Alison and Scar
by Funsized-killjoy
Summary: The Aurora Alchemist, Alison Citrona, knew Scar long before he became what he is now.  But Alison is still a State Alchemist, and Scar is still consumed with revenge.
1. Rain

The rain from yesterday was still hammering my windows. I had just heard about the death of that Alchemist, Shou Tucker, and his daughter, Nina. We all knew who had killed them. Scar. For the past few months he's been assassinating State Alchemists left and right. Every few days a new body would show up. We knew it was the same guy doing it too. Each body had been destroyed from the inside out. The same had happened to Tucker, and his daughter Nina.

I hadn't seen the bodies, but Ed did. He explained what had happened to Nina, everything that had happened. Tucker had needed to make a good impression on the Fuehrer so he could keep his State Alchemist's license. Two years ago, he created a talking chimera. This feat got him the license. But last year, he failed his test. He couldn't create anything that pleased the Fuehrer. This year was his last chance so he needed something big, something like another talking chimera.

Tucker showed the Elric brothers first. It didn't take long for Ed to figure out _how _Tucker had made the chimera. Tucker had used his own daughter and her beloved dog, Alexander, to create the talking chimera. Ed beat the hell out of Tucker. Al said Ed would have killed him. Though they already had figured it out, Tucker also confessed to using his wife to create the chimera two years ago.

That was two days ago. Yesterday, the Fuehrer went to Tucker's house for the evaluation, but all he found were two dead bodies. Scar had come for Tucker. But Nina was also found dead. The Fuehrer believed Scar killed Nina because she was there. But I'll never believe that. The Fuehrer hates Scar. Not only because he is killing State Alchemists, but also because Scar is Ishvalan.

That's actually all we really know about him. He is a well built Ishvalan with an X shaped scar on his forehead, hence the name. I don't hate the Ishvalans though. I believe Scar killed Nina because he knew nothing could return her to the way she was. And even if she could be returned, she would have to live with the fact that her own father had done that to her.

The poor girl didn't have any family to go to either. Two years ago, when he mother had 'disappeared', Tucker had said Nina's mother had run away to her live with her brother. But we did a background check. Nina's mother didn't have a brother, or any siblings. Her parents had died shortly after she had been born. Tucker had been disowned by his family long ago. Though we never said it, we knew his family wouldn't want Nina, not after what had happened to her.

That was yesterday. Today I'm taking the day off for some much needed relaxation. This morning I went down to the ruins of Ishval and spent a lot of time there, like I normally do. Before I arrived, I bought a few dozen loafs of bread and a large supply of fruits and vegetables. I loaded the food on a wagon covered by a tarp and headed down to the ruins.

When I arrived, three children ran up to me and hugged my legs. I laughed and have them all hugs in return. "Miss Alison, Miss Alison!" they cried. "We missed you!" I gave them more hugs and pieces of the fruit. Their mothers came out of a tent not to far away and greeted me respectfully.

"Stop, stop!" said, "Just talk to me normal," I begged. I still hate being spoken to respectfully.

"But, that would be so rude," one mother said. I just laughed and shook my head. We went through this every time. I started handing out the food among the Ishvalans. Most of them were so happy to see such kindness from a foreign face. Their race was so poorly treated. I grew up learning everyone was equal at birth. Actions after birth created the differences between two people. Too few people were raised the way I was. It's partially because of this that I am here today. These people are so horribly treated, I want to show them not everyone is evil. I want these kids to grow up without hate. Sure I probably won't change much, but whenever I come, the kids are happy, so I'm happy.

I spent a few hours in Ishval, but then I had to return. I didn't have any more food and my cat would be getting hungry soon. The children gave me teary goodbyes and their mothers waved and thanked me. I waved and smiled. I rode a train back. It was a short trip and I arrived home at about 5:30. I walked through the streets thinking about Ishval. During the Civil War had ended years ago, but it still haunts me. It still haunts other as well, but I had a different reason. In the beginning, I went to Ishval to try and help the Ishvalans escape. I also helped to heal the wounded and stop Amestris form fighting. The fighting went on for seven years. Then the State Alchemists were called in.

At the time, I had just become a State Alchemist. I was named the Aurora Alchemist because my use of alchemy usually created an aurora effect. I control the weather. By this, I mean I can create dense fog, rain clouds, and lighting storms. At first, the aurora was just a touch I added to amuse people, but then it became part of my identity.

When the call for State Alchemists came in, I knew I wouldn't be using my alchemy to amuse anyone. The Fuehrer wanted to end the war as soon as possible. And that meant sending in people capable of causing mass destruction. We were to be given Philosopher's Stones to use as we saw fit in the fighting. With the Stone's power, I knew I could create hurricanes or massive lighting storms, capable of killing hundreds. When Mustang told me what was planned, I immediately thought of Daein.

He was an Ishvalan, and he was my friend. He was the reason I pursued alchemy and became a State Alchemist. He taught me almost everything I know. And while he was teaching me, we became close. Mustang knew this. He alerted me long before even he should have known these plans. He didn't know what I would do, but he knew I would try and find a way out. He knew I _needed_ to find a way out.

My solution was simple. I couldn't fight if I was injured. I staged a mugging in which I was the victim. Everyone, except for Mustang, believed it, too. I shot myself and spent three weeks in the hospital. By the time I was out, the fighting was long over. About a week after the fighting had stopped, Mustang visited my room.

I knew immediately he wasn't here to wish me good health. He looked horrible. No, not horrible, just utterly depressed it probably better. I took one look at him and figured out what he had to say. Daein was dead. Mustang explained that they found his body, and there was no doubt as to who it was. I cried then.

I cried later too, but for another reason. I blamed myself. I had been fighting to save Ishval for seven years. But then I was called to fight, and I refused to go. I was afraid I would hurt someone. But by then I had realized I might have hurt more people by not going. I could have save more people, or I could have stopped some from fighting. But instead I hid. If I had goon, I probably would have been able to help Daein and his family escape. But instead I hid. And they all died. I blame myself. I still blame myself.

When I got home, it was as if my cat could sense how I was feeling. He came up and rubbed my leg and started purring. I bent down and picked him up. He was still a kitten and was still so small. He purred happily as I stroked his back. Thunder cracked and lighting flashed. I jumped and my kitten jumped from my arms. I hadn't realized how bad the storm had gotten. At this rate, my power would go out soon. I needed to find candles.

I went to my back closet and rifled through boxes and bags. I knew I had candles here somewhere. As I was looking, my cat was walking around and purring. But then he stopped. I turned around and started to ask him if something was wrong, but before I could even speak a word, I saw the silhouette of a large, well built man. I stood up quickly, banging my head on an overhead shelf, but that didn't bother me at the moment. I could only focus on the form in front of me.

My cat whimpered faintly, but neither of us acknowledged him. I had an idea of who was standing before me, but I wanted to be sure before I acted. I just didn't know how to be sure.

I bright flash followed by crashing thunder rocked my small house. In the brief moments when I the lightning broke the night, my eyes never left the figures face. Across his forehead and over his eyes was a large, X-shaped scar. His skin was dark tan and his eyes were bloody crimson.

"Scar!" I gasped.


	2. Explosion

"You came for me, then?" I said, "I'm not surprised. I've been in the news a lot lately." My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and I could make out the faint outline of his form. "You're here to kill me, right. Well, you might as well get it over with."

"You've already accepted death?" he asked. His voice was different than I expected, not as harsh as I thought it would have been. I couldn't quite place it, but it almost sounded familiar.

"I accepted death ten years ago," I said. He stood silent for several minutes. My cat meowed once, but neither of us paid him any attention. Scar broke the silence.

"What do you mean?" he asked. I was a bit surprised. I didn't expect him to care enough for an explanation.

"It's a bit of a long story," I said.

"I have time," he said. And so I started to explain what had happened in Ishval ten years ago. I explained how I fought to help the Ishvalans, and how I fought to stop the fighting.

"All I wanted was for the fighting to stop. Not only for the children and innocents who were being hurt, but also because of someone else. Before the war started, and especially after, most of my friends had been Ishvalan. And there was one man who was… more than a friend. He's the one who taught me alchemy, and he encouraged me to become a State Alchemist. We both saw the opportunities this position would grant. So I took the test. Not a month after that, the State Alchemists were called in to fight. I was not spared, even though I barely had any idea what I was doing.

"But I couldn't fight. I had so many friends, and he was still there, despite the fact I had told him to leave many times. He always said his family refused to leave, and he couldn't leave them. More than his family, though, his little brother just refused to trust me. I was...am an alchemist, and he despised this. He believed it was my fault his brother became an alchemist. He hated me. He said he would never follow me, no matter where to. So he and his family said in Ishval." I paused for a moment, and Scar spoke.

"This man, the older brother, what was his name?" he asked.

"His name? His name was…Daein," I said slowly, feeling the pain of losing him once again.

"Daein? Are you sure?" he asked, somewhat frantic.

"Y-yes. I am positive."

"Daein… was my brother's name," Scar said. My blank face shattered into a mask of surprise and confusion. Did this mean Scar was his brother? I could think of only one way to be sure.

"Could I see you're right arm?" I asked slowly. Scar started at me for several moments, then rolled the sleeve of his jacket up. His arm was covered in tattoos. Each one was a different alchemical formula. No, each one was only half a formula. Each one ended in destruction. To properly control the alchemy, one needed tattoos on the left arm as well. "You lost your arm." I said, not asked.

"And my brother gave me his," Scar said bluntly.

"That's what you've been using to commit the murders, right?"

"It is," he replied.

"Can you tell me… why you killed Nina Tucker?" I asked quietly, not expecting an answer.

"I believed no one could restore her."

"You did? Everyone thinks you killed her only because she was there. Everyone except me."

"You believed differently?"

"I did, I still do. From the very beginning I suspected the murderer was an Ishvalan who had lost someone important in the civil war. I was waiting for you to find me, actually." We stood silent once again. I couldn't think of anything to say, and neither could he. Suddenly, there was a knocking at my door. Mustang's voice called out to me, asking me if I was all right.

"Mustang!" I said, "You need to leave, now!" Scar looked at me confused while I tried to push him towards by back door. "You're Daein's brother, if I let you get caught he'd never forgive me." After I said that, Scar followed without question. I lead him through my kitchen to a back door that lead into an alley. "Scar!" I called "I almost forgot! Thank you! For saving Nina and judging Tucker!"

"You haven't forsaken God," he muttered then ran down the alley. After I was sure he was out of sight, I opened my front to find Mustang and Hawkeye waiting for me.

"Are you alright?" Mustang asked, concern tingeing his voice.

"I'm fine," I said, "I was just about to give me cat a bath, though. Thanks to your knocking I'm going to have to chase him through my house again." I mocked anger and Mustang mocked sympathy.

"Want help finding him," he said in a voice that obviously meant he had no intention of helping me.

"I got it, just go home," I replied, sticking my tongue out at him.

"You know, I could have you court marshaled for showing such complete lack of respect to your commanding officer," he said, sounding all stuck up and highbrow.

"But you won't," I said, giggling.

"She's right," Hawkeye said.

"I'm trying to prove a point here!" Mustang snapped and Hawkeye and I just burst out laughing.

A month later, East City was hit hard. A subway channel had exploded. Local police forces believed it was a gas explosion, and I think Mustang thought this as well. But I thought differently. I knew explosions, I had to create them so I could keep my license. Something did explode, but it wasn't gas. It looked more like the ground was torn apart. Large sections were crumpled while others looked as is they were gentle broken apart. The whole see brought back memories of the time the Elric brothers had fought Scar.

His right arm, the one covered in formulas for destruction, had caused damage similar to this. I spent quite a bit of time analyzing the damage, but the more I looked, the more I was convinced Scar had bad at least some part in the destruction. Which meant Scar had stayed in East City for weeks after I had helped him escape. But why?

Another question sprung to mind too. Was Scar still alive. One of the first things we found was a bloody, torn jacket. Immediately I remembered Scar wearing the exact same jacket. Mustang did too. He said if all the blood on the jacket belonged to Scar, he could take our time searching because he wouldn't be able to survive for long. I found myself desperately hoping he was wrong.

Mustang assigned Havoc to search through the rubble, and I offered to help. I told them I had nothing better to do, and I could help things go much faster by using alchemy. I had to explain to Havoc many times that I couldn't just transmute all the rubble back into the walls, because that would cause collapses in multiple areas. So I stuck to breaking apart large boulders so the men could carry them away with greater ease. We worked for three weeks, digging up a number of bodies but never finding any that could have been Scar. With each day that passed without a sign of him, my confidence grew that he was alive.

The fact that Mustang had ordered us to work all day with no breaks was irritating to the rest of the team, but I didn't mind. I did miss my cat, though, and he was getting angry with me for being away so much. I talked to Havoc about it and he told me to bring my cat to the excavation site.

"But, wouldn't that makes thing a bit dangerous to have a kitten playing around, and besides, he'll probably get himself hurt," I said in response.

"Just keep an eye on him," Havoc said, "he'll be much happier here to, and you know it."

"Yeah, he would be a lot happier, wouldn't he," I laughed.

"Are you still calling him, 'he?' When are you going to name the poor cat?" Havoc teased.

"I can't think of anything!" I exclaimed, causing the other workers to glance at Havoc and me and wonder what we were talking about. By tomorrow, rumors of a secret relationship between the two of us would probably spread throughout the entire East City military office. Everyone knows the only one who womanizes more than Havoc is Mustang, and everyone knows I'm having relationship troubles at the moment. My boyfriend's an ass.

He's been getting on my case lately about all the hours I've been logging at work. He just refuses to understand I have mountains of work to do, literally, and that I need to get it done. He keeps saying he never has the chance to see me anymore, but when I tell him he can come to the excavation site, he all out refuses. He says it would be too much work.

But we've been dating for months, and every time I feel him slipping away, I try my hardest to get him back. I wish he would just come to the site, at least once.

After Havoc told me to bring my cat, I started carrying him everywhere. He would sit so nicely on my head, not moving or complaining. I thought a lot about what Havoc said about a name. But I still couldn't think of one. I asked my boyfriend for help, but he just said the cat didn't need a name. Havoc said I needed to come up with a name myself, because it was my cat. I even asked Mustang, but he just started rattling off names of girls he's dating. Hawkeye said I should look at my cat's behavior. If there's something odd about him, I should turn that into the name.

About two weeks into the dig, Havoc decided I should take a break. "You've been working ten times harder then everyone else here, take tomorrow off," he said.

"I can't. Mustang said no breaks."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Havoc replied, chuckling a bit. I shrugged and slept in the next morning. My boyfriend had to go out of town for a business meeting, so it was just my cat and I. We walked around; I didn't have the money or time to go to Ishval, so I had to stay in East City. I didn't mind, though. It was a sunny day and there was a new shipment of apples in at my favorite green grocer, so I was content.

I was munching on my third apple when I finally made my way out of town. I was walking along a path that lead into a slightly wooded area. Trees dotted the path and here and there some bushes filled in the gaps between trees. I walked for a few minutes away from the city, and then I found a little trail leading away from the road. I asked my cat, who was still sitting playfully on my head, if I should walked down it. He purred, so I took that as a yes.


	3. Injury

I started walking down and noticed how quiet everything was. In the city, everyone was always talking and yelling, and so many people had been asking my why a cat was on my head. I answered some, but ignored most. But now that I'm outside, I realized how nice the quite was. I found a small clearing where a tree had been cut down, probably for some holiday, and sat on the stump left behind.

When I sat down, my cat decided to wake up and walk around. I was feeling mischievous, so I pulled out my gloves with alchemy formulas drawn on them. I'm called the Aurora Alchemist for a reason. I can alter the water content in the air and create amazing illusions by freezing water into miniscule shards of ice. It's taken me seventeen years to perfect, but it's so much fun. I decided my cat needed a good scare, so I created a fog around him, then thickened it until the fog almost looked like black wings.

At first, my cat was terrified, but then he realized I was playing with him and played along. He jumped on the stump and jumped off. With my cloud-wings and his black fur, he almost looked like a crow or a raven.

"I still have to give you a name, don't I?" I rolled around a few syllables and sounds, trying to find something that sounded good. My cat looked at me like I was crazy. Eventually I just started saying random words, and then I said "lieutenant'. "Hmm…" I thought. I wrote the word with a stick in the dirt, sounding out every letter so I spelled it write. "Lii-ay-yoo-tenant," I said, "That's perfect, Lieu!" My cat looked at me and jumped around. I took that as a sign that he liked the name.(Author's Note: Yes, I actually really do this and this is actually how I came up with the name for the cat ^^)

I played with Lieu for about an hour, then I noticed the sun was starting to dip. "C'mon, Lieu, time to go home," I said and he walked along side me out of the forest and into East City. On a whim, I decided to go south instead of east. I haven't been to a small slum outside of East City in ages. Most of the people living there are my friends, so I decided I'd spend the night there. The excavation cite was closer to the slum than my house anyway.

I arrived at the slum when the sun was just to set. The sky was dark, but fires were burning up and down the street, providing more than enough light to see. A young child saw me coming and a wide smile spread across his face. "Miss Alison! You've been gone too long!" he cried and ran to me. He wrapped his arms around my legs and hugged me tight.

"I'm sorry, Kayal. I've just been so busy. How about this, I'll stay the night. Will that help make up for me being gone too long?"

"Really? You can do that?" he asked, eyes wide and hopeful.

"Um… actually, I could get in big trouble. But! That's only if my boss finds out," I said, laughing. Kayal cheered and started dragging me through the small Ishvalan town.

"You have to see something!" he said, his voice turning darker and concerned. "We found someone. He's hurt really bad. You need to help him."

"Don't worry, Kayal," I assured him, "of course I'll help." He looked up at me and smiled. He grabbed my hand again and started to pull me towards his house. It was a small tent made from old scraps of cloth. A small fire was burning outside of it and Kayal's grandfather was sitting on a box beside it. He looked up when he saw me and gave me a small smile.

"I trust little Kayal has told you about our visitor, Miss Alison," he said, "We have been trying out best, but he has been asleep since we found him. That was… about three weeks ago now."

"Three weeks!" I said, "And he's still alive?"

"His heart is beating and he is breathing. And, if we pour water in his mouth, he drinks it. I believe he may be awake, at least on occasion, but he is too weak to move. When we found him, he was gravely injured."

"I see…" I was silent for a few minutes, thinking of all the ailments that could cause this. The alchemy I use requires immense knowledge of weather and chemical balances in the atmosphere, but I also have a detailed knowledge of medicine. I can treat most wounds and can cure many diseases. But what would cause this. If he was gravely injured, this may be his body's response to help him heal. That would make sense. He can drink, so there must be times when he has at least some awareness, or his body is automatically responding. But if the latter is the case, then my theory would still be applicable. "Okay, I think I might have an idea of what is wrong, but I'll need to see him to be sure," I said.

"That won't be any problem, Miss Alison," Kayal's grandfather replied, "But, if you wouldn't mind, could you tell me what you suspect?" He had knowledge of medicine as well, and I guessed he just wanted to help in any way he could. I explained my theory to him. "Yes, that would make sense. But for three weeks?"

"It could happen," I said. He just nodded and waved a hand, inviting me inside his house. Kayal had been sitting quietly while we talked, but when his grandfather invited me inside, he jumped up and ran to push open the flap acting as a door. He held it open for me to follow. When I walked inside he ran back out and appeared moments later with a bucket of cold water. He looked up at me, his face begging me to help the man lying in the tent. I smiled at Kayal and whispered an assurance, promising I would help the man. I took the cold water and a few rags and walked over to the man. His most of his body was covered in bandages, but I couldn't see many apparent wounds. I didn't look to well, though, because something else caught my attention.

Across this man's right arm were tattoos depicting a complex alchemy formula. Across his forehead was a large scar in the shape of an X. This man was unmistakably Scar. I was struck with half a moment's indecision. I had promised to help him, but he was being searched for by the military for the murder of many State Alchemists. But above all that, he was Daein's little brother. Of course I would help him. I never felt much allegiance to the military anyway. I only kept my job because Daein worked so hard to teach me enough to earn it.

Candles were light around the tent, giving off light as well as heat, so I took of my jacket and rolled up my sleeves. I rested my hand on his forehead, checking for fever. His skin burned. I immediately picked up a rag and dipped it in the water. I rested the wet rag in his forehead and started to check his injuries. A large bruise covered the left side of his stomach. Though I couldn't tell for sure, I didn't think there was much damage done there. The bruise was bad, but that was most likely made worse my the fever. He had some other, smaller wounds on his shoulder and chest, but those were already half healed. As I inspected one, however, I could see that it had become infected. That explained the fever and confirmed my theory.

As I worked, Lieu was pacing around and batting at a moth. I called him over and gave him a note, telling him to give it to Kayal's grandfather. Lieu picked up the note with his teeth and trotted out of the tent. I had to smile at him. Havoc never believed this, but I swear that cat is just as smart as any of us humans. He always listened to me, and always judged people perfectly. I sighed, think about how he acts around my boyfriend. Lieu never liked him. But, I thought, he is very fond if Scar. I shock my head, a bit confused, and went back to tending to Scar's wounds.

On the note, I had written a list of plants that could be found around the town and on the outskirts. I knew Kayal would know what they were and that he would know were to find them. I could use those plants to make a tonic to help give Scar back some strength, and I could make a poultice to treat his infection. For now, though, I would have to settle with just cleaning the wound. I picked up a few of the candles and set them in a small circle. I found a second bucket and filled it with some water. I set the bucket on top of a metal bracket that I placed over the candles. When the water began to boil, I placed the rags in it. I waited for a few minutes, in that time Lieu came back in and curled up next to me and fell asleep.

Once the rags had been boiling for a while, I took the bucket off the bracket and set it beside me. I placed both the bracket and candles back where I had found them, and returned to the two buckets beside Scar. Before I started cleaning his wound, removed the rag from his forehead and replaced it with one that had been sitting in the cold water. Afterwards, I pulled a rag from the hot water and began to gentle clean the infected wound. I spent nearly an hour doing this before Kayal returned with the plants. I thanked him and smiled.

"Will he be okay?" Kayal asked.

"Of course he will. I won't let him die, don't worry," I replied before removing a small mortar and pestle form my backpack. I began to pound out parts of the plant and mix them with the more water Kayal had brought with the plants.

"Will you turn him in, once he gets better?" Kayal asked, his voice sounding depressed and defeated.

"So you know who he is?" is asked. Kayal nodded. I sighed and said, "No, I won't. I'm here to help. Just like I always am."

"Aren't you scared? He's been killing the State Alchemists!"

"No, I'm not scared. I trust him. He won't hurt me for the same reason why I'm helping him now," I said. Kayal looked confused, but he didn't ask anymore. He just sat still and watched me work. Lieu had woken up and slinked over to Kayal. He picked up the cat and they both ended up falling asleep. A quiet snore came from outside the tent, and I realized Kayal's grandfather had also fallen asleep. I checked the time on my pocket-watch and was surprised to see how late it was. There was no way I could work tomorrow, not with so little sleep. But I doubt I could have made it anyway, not until I fulfilled my promise to Kayal. _Sorry, Havoc,_ I thought, _but I'm going to have to take tomorrow, and probably a few days after that, off._

Now that I had the tonic and poultice made, I started once again to attend to Scar. I spread the poultice across his wound and slowly gave him the tonic. He coughed a few times, but he drank all of it. Once that was done, I lay down near Scar, I wanted to be close in case he got worse, and fell asleep.

Over the course of the next few days I continued to tend to Scar. I gave him a few more doses of the tonic and cleaned out his wound a few more times. The infection was healing fast, and after four days his fever was almost gone. However, despite this improvement, the bruise in his stomach was not healing. I thought of a number of causes and solutions, but I wasn't sure which was causing it, and I didn't want to mix a medicine that wouldn't heal the bruise, because that wouldn't most likely cause more problems than it would fix. For now, all I could do was wait for Scar to wake up. Then I could ask him what happened and finally learn what I needed to do to heal that last wound.

The following day, I went through the plants and herbs I had left. There was not nearly enough to make more medicine. I asked Kayal and his grandfather to watch over Scar, and I left to gather the plants myself this time. It wasn't that I didn't trust Kayal; I just needed to get out and walk around a bit.


	4. Awakening

_The hot sun beat the ground and baked the sand. The light was intense and nearly blinding. Scar needed to have a cloth wrapped around to keep the light out of his eyes. He also wore long robes to shield his body from the sun's harmful rays. _

_Scar looked around. He was confused. _Am I in Ishval? _he thought. Footsteps sounded behind him and he spun around to see who was there. A taller man stood on a dune that rose high above the others. The man had long, straight black hair that he had tied back. There was a symbol tattooed on each of his palm. A wicked smile rested on his lips. The man clapped his hands together, and everything around him, including Scar, burst into flames and exploded._

Scar awoke with a start. He was breathing heavily and covered in sweat. _A dream_ he thought. But he had seen that scene once before. Ten years ago, when he had finally decided to flee from Ishval. His parents and older brother had been killed in that explosion. _No, _Scar thought, _Daein was not killed in the blast. He died later…_

"Mister, are you awake now?" a young boy's voice asked. Scar turned his head and a boy who was about ten years old was looking at him. The boy looked concerned and afraid, but he was missing a tooth and this almost gave his face a comic appearance. Scar felt no humor, though, because he was still troubled by his dream. More than that, though, he wasn't sure where he was or what had happened to him. He began to notice a cool, wet cloth was draped over his face. Some one was caring for him. _But why? _he thought. "Mister?" the boy asked again.

"I'm…alive?" Scar asked.

"Yeah, but just barely. We found you floating in the river so we fished you out. You've sleeping for three weeks."

"Three weeks?" Scar said. I tried to get up, he wanted to leave so he wouldn't be a burden, but the boy pushed him back down.

"You can't get up yet, Mister. You're not better yet," the boy explained.

"Can you at least… tell me one thing? Is my right arm still with me?" Scar was immensely worried he had lost his arm, and in his nearly feverish state, he couldn't be sure it was still there.

"Yeah, you still have all your arms and legs," the boy said, "but your arm is really cool looking. What are all those tattoos?"

"They are… a gift. From my family," Scar said. The boy tried to ask more, but Scar refused to speak. He had grown increasingly tired and wanted to go back to sleep.

He was just about to slip back into unconsciousness, but then he heard the flap of the tent move and a woman's voice asked, "Has anything happened?" The voice sounded so familiar to Scar, but he couldn't remember to whom it belonged. He would have fallen to sleep, but the boy explained that he had woken up. Light footsteps grew closer and Scar knew he would be forced to remain awake. The woman gently called, "Scar," in an attempt to gain his attention. He turned his head and looked up at the woman. Scar was immediately shocked to discover the woman was Alison Citrona.

"Scar," I called softly. Kayal had said he had woken up, but with the state he was in, Scar could easily have fallen back to sleep. But he stirred and turned his head towards me. He slowly opened his eyes, and when he saw my surprise crossed his face. "Shh, calm down," I said, my voice as gentle and soothing as I could make it, "I promise I'm only here to help. Now I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you what happened. You're still injured, but I don't know how to treat the injury."

Scar was quiet for a few minutes. He looked like he wasn't all too sure what happened himself. His face lit up suddenly, though, as if he had just discovered a secret. Slowly, and with a voice that was almost too weak to hear, he began to explain what had happened in then sewer tunnel.

After the fight with the Elric brothers, Colonel Mustang, and Major Armstrong, Scar had fled into the sewers. The Colonel's lieutenant had only scraped his with her bullet, but he had taken a direct hit from Major Armstrong. That injury had begun to trouble him now as he walked through the sewer. He didn't know how far or how long he had walked, but he knew he had to be far from the scene of the fight. This far away, he was confident the military would have trouble finding him. He wasn't sure he could defend himself as the moment.

He passed by a junction and turned right. He had no idea were he was going, he just hoped he'd find a way out soon. He had an increasing feeling that he wasn't alone. Somewhere in the darkness, he heard a woman chuckle. A second, almost inhuman, laugh followed. Scar flung himself against the wall, facing the sound of the laughter. A beautiful woman and grotesquely fat man came walking towards him.

"You might have been useful, Scar," the woman said, "but we can't have you killing our precious sacrifice." She held up her hand and her first two fingers stretched into long blade-like spears. She pointed her fingers at Scar and her fingers stretched longer. Scar jumped out of the way just as the woman's spears imbedded themselves in the concrete wall.

"Lust! Lust! Can I eat him?" the fat man asked. The woman, Lust, looked at him and smiled.

"Go right ahead, Gluttony," she said. Gluttony ran towards Scar with incredible speed. Scar was faster though, and grabbed Gluttony with his right hand. Blood leaked from Gluttony's ears and mouth as Scar blasted him with destruction alchemy. Much to Scar's surprise, Gluttony's hand shot out and latched onto Scar's stomach. Gluttony crushed Scar's stomach with tremendous force. Scar thrust his right hand against the concrete wall and destroyed it. The chaos that followed provided Scar with the opportunity to escape Gluttony. He ran as fast as he could down a corridor of the sewers.

He didn't make it far before Lust caught up with him. She shot at him and managed to pierce his shoulder. She retracted he spears and Scar ran to the right. He blew out the wall in front of him and would have escaped, but Gluttony had reappeared. Scar was trapped.

I deafening rumble sounded through the sewer. Rocks and debris started to rain down around the trio as the tunnel collapsed. The platform Scar had been standing on crumbled and he fell.

The bottom of the sewer was filled with water, but it only reached up to Scar's ankles. Still, he had a hard time running with his injuries. He saw a ladder and rushed for it. He never had the chance to reach it, though, because just before he grabbed it another roar filled the cavern. A tremendous wave was rocketing down the corridor, straight towards Scar. And, to make matters worse, Lust had reappeared as well. He shot out at Scar one last time, but he saw her and managed to dodge. But he was a second to slow. Lust's spear had grazed across his chest, leaving behind a deep wound. Scar kneeled to the ground in pain just before the wave struck him.

"That is the last thing I remember," Scar finished. I thought for a few moments then said, "Your story raises more questions than answers. But, at least I know how to treat that last injury now." I remembered the wound Major Armstrong had inflicted on Scar, but know that I knew this Gluttony guy had further injured the same area; I knew exactly what to do.

"Alright. I know how to treat your injury, but before I do I need to know the location and severity. This should hurt, if it doesn't we have a bigger problem, but I need you to tell me where it hurts the most, okay?" I explained. Scar looked slightly confused, but he nodded. "Good. To test the location and severity, I'm going to gently press on the bruised area. The areas that are injured more will hurt more. Once I know what the injury looks like, I can apply a number of medicines that will help to heal it."

"And if I don't feel pain?" Scar asked. I sighed and said, "If you can't feel pain, it will mean your body has started to shut down. If that'd the case, I'll have to mix at least half a dozen tonics together that will help your body to restore itself. _Unfortunately_, most of the ingredients used to make the tonics don't grow anywhere around here so I'll have to buy them, and some of them are very expensive. _Fortunately _your talking and can move, if only slightly, so odds are you'll be able to feel the pain. Though, I'm not really all that sure if you'd want to. Anyway, are you ready?"

"Yes," he said. I pulled down the blanket that covered him and pulled away some bandages that covered the bruised area. I pressed as gently as I could, but I still felt Scar's body tense and I still heard him gasp. At least he could feel pain. I worked for the next hour, gaining a clear image of the damage that had been done. His kidney had taken a lot of damage, and his spleen wasn't in the best of shape, but there really weren't any other serious injuries. I explained all this to Scar.

"Be grateful," I said, "those organs are actually pretty easy to heal. Your spleen will actually heal itself once I fix your kidney." After I said this, I turned to my pile of herbs. I picked a few flowers, leaves, and roots from the mix and separated them into two groups. "Kayal, could you get me more water?" He nodded and ran from the tent. As he left, Lieu wandered back in. When he saw Scar was awake, his faced almost seemed to light up and he trotted on over to us. He climbed on Scar's left arm and fell asleep. I smiled and shook my head. "Silly cat," I muttered before returning to the medicines I was making.

"Why are you helping me?" Scar asked suddenly. I stop grinding the herbs for a moment, but then I went right back to work.

"I promised Kayal I would," I responded. "I came here a few days ago, and as soon as he saw me, he started begging me to help you."

"Is that the only reason?"

"… No, it's not. There are actually quite a few, but the biggest one is that you are hurt, and I just can't leave a wounded man to die. I know how to save you, so why shouldn't I?"

"I could kill you as soon as I recover."

"Then so be it."

"You're… really not afraid?"

"No, I'm not. Right now, all I want to concentrate on is healing your wounds. I can't waste time by being afraid." Scar didn't say anything after that. After a few minutes, I asked, "Scar, what did you mean when you said I 'haven't forsaken God'?"

"You are going out of your way to save someone who may wish to kill you. Am I also correct in assuming you shouldn't even be here?"

"You are correct. I should have reported back days ago."

"You are disobeying your commanding officers and risking your life to help an Ishvalan, someone who is considered less than human by most in Amestris. A State Alchemist who has sold her souls to the devil and forsaken God would not do this."

"Risking my life? Yeah, I suppose I am. If Bradley finds out… Well, I think I'd rather not think about that," I said and laughed a little.

"How can you laugh?" Scar asked.

"You're going after alchemists who have forsaken God, right? Well, if I haven't, then you won't go after me anymore," I said and smiled at him. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but Kayal can running in with two buckets of water.

"Miss Alison, I'm back!" he called. He was rather loud, so when he came in Lieu cried out and jumped off Scar's arm. He ran over to the corner of the tent farthest from Kayal and hissed. Kayal ran behind me and hid from the crazy cat. Lieu's overreaction and Kayal's utter fear of my harmless cat drove me into an intense fit of laughter. When I had managed to calm myself down a bit, I walked over to Lieu, who was looking both frightened and confused, and carried him back to were I had been sitting.

"Come on now, you silly cat," I said softly to him, "see look, Kayal, he's not scary at all." Kayal walked slowly towards me and set his hand on Lieu's head. "See, he's a sweet kitten." Kayal smiled and laughed and I handed Lieu to him. Lieu started to purr and Kayal laughed. "Alright, now back to business. Thank you for the water, Kayal," I said. I took some of the water and mixed one of the piles I hand ground together with it. I had the mixture in a small wooden bowl that I carried over to Scar. "You need to drink this," I told him, "It's actually a common tea, but it's probably the best thing to drink if you have internal injuries. Wait, wait, wait! You should move just yet!" I said as he started trying to sit up. "Just lie down, please." He lay back down and I gave him the tea.

After that, I started mixing the other pile of ground up herbs. This time I used much less water and the mixture formed a thick paste. "Hold still," I told Scar. I spread the paste across his bruised stomach. "This will help with the pain," I explained. He just lay quietly, probably in deep thought. It almost seemed like he wanted to tell me something, but not until Kayal left again.

I was about to ask Kayal to fetch me more herbs, but before I had the chance, Kayal's grandfather walked in. "You're awake now, are you, boy," he said, "You're looking much better now too. Be grateful to little Miss Alison, now, she's been working day and night for you."

"Grandpa," I complained, "you didn't have to say that."

"And why not, this boy should know," he said with a stubbornness that can only come from age. "Anyway," he continued, "there are quite a bit of people out there who want to talk to you, boy."

"Grandpa! Not yet, don't encourage people," I huffed.

"Nonsense! A man is found floating down a river and people are going to want to know why!" he replied.

"Fine, but not to many, he's still really weak. If you could _wait _for a day or two, I'd be much happier," I sighed. Kayal's grandfather laughed at me. "Grandpa!" snapped as he started to open the flap, "At least ask Scar if he wants to talk!"

"I can talk," Scar said. I looked at him and sighed again.

"Alright then," I said. "I'm going to go, then," I said and giggled a little, "Actually, I really should have called my Colonel days ago. Don't worry, I won't tell him were I am, he's used to me disappearing. I'll be back in an hour or two," I finished and waved as I walked out of the tent.

I asked Kayal's grandfather if there were any phones nearby, and he pointed me towards a small hut. I thanked him and ran off. I found the phone unoccupied and called East City headquarters. The receptionist's voice came through and I told her my military i.d. I told her to patch me through to Colonel Mustang and she agreed. As soon as the call was patched through, I heard Mustang yelling at me for not calling earlier, or at least telling him I would be gone for a few days.

I explained the situation I was in, using a code he had developed, but I left out the fact that the one I was helping was Scar. He really didn't need to know that. I did tell him someone was hurt and I promised I'd help him. Mustang sounded irritated, but he didn't protest. Actually, he always sounded irritated, so I wasn't all that concerned. We chatted some more, it wasn't that we really had much more to say, but I didn't want Bradley or anyone else who might have tapped the line getting suspicious, and Mustang understood.

I was about to end the conversation, but Mustang told me to wait. "I… have to tell you something," he said. His voice had suddenly become dour and bleak. He sounded like he had lost someone very close to him.

"Are you all right?" I asked him. That didn't really sound appropriate, but I couldn't think of anything else to say at the moment.

"I guess _I _am, but that's not an issue right now. Alison, listen to me. Hughes… he's been… he's dead." I nearly dropped the phone.

(Author's Note: Bleach is entering its last saga… FML! Akhgraeguirelidfhsgvad)


	5. Farewell

"W-what? What do you mean? He can't be dead. His daughter's birthday was just a few days ago, she's only three. He can't just be dead. What happened?" I nearly shouted.

"He was murdered."

"By who?" Now I was shouting, and crying.

"We…don't know. I'm using every resource I have to find the bastard who did this. I will avenge Maes." All hint of depression had left Mustang's voice. Only determination remained.

"You'll find him," I said. Mustang grunted in agreement, then hung up. I just stood there for a few minutes, letting this news sink in. _Maes Hughes was dead?_ For some reason, I just couldn't accept his. He wasn't the first friend I had lost. But, then again, I guess I really wouldn't be myself if _could_ accept the loss of a friend.

I hung up the phone and started to walk back to Kayal's tent. I must have been gone long, because most of the people had left. Only a young girl, maybe as young as Hughes' daughter, and her father remained. They left before I was even near the tent though. The girl waved by to Kayal's grandfather, who was still sitting outside the tent, and ran after her father. Kayal's grandfather waved at me and I waved back. I headed right into the tent.

Inside, Kayal and Lieu were nowhere to be seen and Scar was sitting up. "Hey, what are you going? You should be up yet!" I said.

"I feel no pain, and I feel much stronger then I have since I awoke," Scar said.

"You are? Oh, that's… better than I expected," I said. I must have been exactly right, or maybe a little to right. He wasn't injured nearly as bad as I thought he had been. That's good.

"Are you alright?" Scar asked.

"Huh? What?" I asked.

"You're crying." I pulled my hand up to my cheek and felt a tear roll over my fingers. I started rambling on about Hughes. How he'd been such a good friend to me, how everyone else found him so annoying, but I found him adorable, how I've seen his daughter grow since the day she was born, how whenever I needed advice, he was always eager to talk all day long. Scar listened silently the entire time. When I explained how I had just learned Hughes had died, Scar still remained silent. For the next few minutes, all I did was cry.

When I had managed to calm myself down, Scar asked again if I was alright. I nodded and asked him if his stomach was hurting him again. He said it wasn't, so I asked him if I could see his wound again. The bruising was almost completely gone. I was frankly astounded. "You said you were feeling stronger, right?" I asked as I wiped the last of my tears away. Scar nodded, and I suggested he should try to stand. As I did, however, Kayal walked in carrying Lieu in one hand and a large bowl in the other.

"Gramps says you need to eat more," the child said. I smiled at him and took the bowl and sleeping cat from his arms. Lieu stirred a bit, but then fell right back to sleep.

"I swear, you are the laziest cat I know," I said, and Kayal laughed at me. After the three of us ate, I noticed the sun had nearly set. I said we needed some sleep, because tomorrow was going to be busy. Kayal grabbed Lieu and they fell asleep cuddled together again. Before I fell asleep, I saw Scar looking out at the night through the open flap of the tent.

All night long, I dreamed of Maes Hughes.

"Miss Alison, it's morning." I groaned, but I woke up. Kayal's grandfather had shaken me awake.

"Aww damn, how late did I sleep?" I asked. Kayal piped in and told me I had been sleeping for most of the day. "What! Why didn't anyone wake me earlier?"

"We tried," Scar said.

"Huh? I'm sorry. Wait!" Scar was sitting up again, but now he had stone dumbbells and was doing reps. "If you move around to much you're wound will only get worse!" I told him.

"Ishval warriors must train constantly," he replied. I shook my head in irritation. Kayal picked up a wet rag and threw it at Scar's face.

"Wipe your face," the boy said, "You have a visitor." Both Scar and I looked up confused. An older, tall man walked in with Lieu resting on one shoulder.

"Master?" Scar said. The man look stern and a bit frightening, but he handed me my cat and smiled.

"This little guy got lost. I found him wandering around by the river trying to get some fish," the man explained. "Well now, you don't seem to be in the best of shape," the man said to Scar, "But I take it the was didn't do that."

"No, I survived the war. As did you, it seems. No, these wounds are much more recent." Scar explained.

"I see. Young Miss, are you the one who has been treating his wounds?" the master asked me. I hesitated, I didn't want him to give me all the credit, Kayal and the other villagers helped a great deal, but this master seemed like the kind of guy who's opinion is hard to change. "I am only asking because I've been here for quite some time, but I've never met anyone with any level of medical expertise."

"O-oh, okay," I replied, "Um, yes. I did, but I had a lot of help from the villagers, especially Kayal and his grandfather." I spoke quickly and held my hands up, gesturing that I'm nothing special. The master just started to laugh at me.

"Well aren't you just the humblest thing!" he laughed, "What's your name?"

"Alison. Alison Citrona." The master nodded as if he approved of something.

"Master, why are you here?" Scar asked suddenly. His master looked back and forth between Scar and me. It seemed like he had completely forgotten about Scar.

"Oh! That's right, I wanted to speak to you. You've gotten the military in quite the uproar, haven't you?" Scar looked down as his master said this. His eyes turned dark and his face bleak. "You've been killing the State Alchemists. I see where your anger stems, however you must stop this. Bloodshed only begets more bloodshed. I know what you've lost, and I know the pain you are in, but you mustn't take out revenge. You must endure the pain."

Scar and his master were silent for some time, then the master glanced up at me and said, "And it seems you are heading my words before I have even spoken them. I'm sure you are aware this little miss is the Aurora Alchemist." I looked at the master in shock. My name was known by more than I expected.

"She saved my life, and has helped many of followers of Ishvala. I cannot harm her," Scar replied. The master and Kayal both looked at me. I just looked down at Lieu. I was taken aback by what Scar had said. It goes without saying that I wasn't expecting that.

Scar's master smiled, then. He laughed shortly and said, "Be good to him, Miss Citrona." My head snapped towards the older man and I gasped, embarrassed. He'd said that like a father approving his son to marry. Scar was about to say something, probably a rebuttal, but before he had the chance, two large men burst into the tent. Kayal ran back behind me and Lieu jumped onto my shoulder, both believing they were in the safest place possible.

"That's the X-shaped scar alright. Severely injured, gigantic bounty, and immobile. This is just great!" said the man with a Mohawk.

"We'll be bleedin' rich!" said the man with the moustache.

"What did you say!" Kayal shouted from behind me. "Shush, Kayal," I told him. Shouts came from outside. The other Ishvalans were demanding to know who sold out Scar. The two large men pointed out the ex-military officer, Yoki. A mob of Ishvalans turned on the bastard, demanding to know why he betrayed them after they had taken him in and saved his life.

"Sh-shut up! You losers, with this bounty, I'll rise to the top and become king!" Yoki shouted. "You two, get him!"

"Scar had already stood up and started to walk past the two men and out of the tent. "It'll be troublesome if I stay here," he said. I jumped to my feet and ran towards him, yelling at him for being so rash. The mustached-man put his hand on Scar shoulder. Kayal yelled for Scar to some back, but Mustache said Scar was being a good fellow by coming forward. I was about to step in and beat the hell out of both Mustache and Mohawk, but Scar beat me to it. He placed his right hand on Mustache's hand, and I disintegrated. The wounded man held what remained of with arm and screamed. Mohawk charged at Scar in rage, but Scar grabbed the man and blasted his insides apart.

Kayal stood back in shock. He ran towards me and cling to me leg. Lieu still clung to my shoulder. Scar tuned to face Mustache. The wounded man cried in fear and tried to convince Scar that Yoki had been behind everything. Scar walked still closer, and Mustache screamed. But, Scar simply bent down and picked up a pair of discarded sunglasses. He stood, and began to walk away. I called after him to wait, but he didn't turn around. His master called out to him, "You're leaving?" When Scar didn't respond, his master added, "You're brother would be sad."

A gust of wind blew through the street, blowing away the blanket Scar had been wearing over his torso. His tattooed arm was displayed in full view, and he said, "I can no longer turn back." He walked out, into the desert. I stayed behind, holding a terrified Kayal and paralyzed Lieu.

I probably would have stayed there like that for hours, but after a few moments, I heard screaming and cries for help. The villagers had found Yoki and were demanding he pay for what he's done. In desperation, Yoki ran over to me.

"H-here! Take this, take it all! Just don't let them hurt me!" he cried. He reached into his pockets and pulled out half a dozen small purses filled with money. I opened them all and took my time looking through the coins and bills. Meanwhile, the angry crowd of Ishvalans was eyeing both of us with fear and mistrust. I smirked at Yoki then flung my arm into the air spraying the money over the crowd. Smiles broke out across their faces as they all reached for the money.

Yoki, on the other hand, looked down at me with shock and disbelief. I heard him mutter something, and then ran behind me. The crowd had claimed all the money I threw, and now they wanted to beat the hell out of Yoki again. He looked to me again, but I had turned around and started walking back towards Kayal's tent. Scar's master had taken him inside to calm the child.

Several hours later, we had finally managed to calm Kayal down. Now that Mustache and Mohawk's body were gone, he started to think Scar's ability was awesome. I just agreed with everything he said; I wasn't paying attention, and I think he realized it, but he didn't seem to care. He just seemed happy that he had someone to talk to.

I wasn't paying attention, because I couldn't stop thinking about Scar, and what his master had said. _Why didn't I go after Scar?_ I kept asking myself. I kept myself up most of the night thinking about it. Finally, I decided I needed to go back to East City. If anyone could help me, Mustang could. Or Riza Hawkeye, she always says she'll help me whenever I need her.

I wrote a quick note, explaining that I needed to go back home to clear my head. I picked up Lieu, who stirred a bit but fell right back to sleep, and left the tent. I was about to leave the encampment, but Scar's Master stopped me. "Miss Alison Citrona, there are some things I must speak to you about," he told me.

"Alright," I agreed. He asked me several questions about Scar, mostly about the Alchemists he had killed. He also asked me if I knew how he had been injured, so I told him the story Scar had told me. As I spoke, Scar's Master nodded occasionally, as if he already knew some of the events and only wanted to confirm them.

"It didn't train him so he could become like this," the Master told me solemnly. "I know," I told him comfortingly. He down, focusing on me, and added, "I've only known you for several hours, and so far the only things I know about you are your medical knowledge and your constant readiness to comfort the ones around you, even me, a complete stranger."

"You, you almost make it sound like that's a bad thing," I told him. He replied by telling me, "It is, when you hiding your own pain by soothing other's." He went on to explain that he's been able to tell from the moment he first saw me that I was harboring an intense pain. He didn't know exactly what that pain was, but he knew I'd been so concentrated on healing Scar because, while I was working, I wasn't thinking about my past.

"You're right," I told him. Then, Scar's Master smiled again at me. "Always being ready to aide those in need is a good, and rare, trait to have, though. If you meet that boy again, no, he's not much of a buy anymore, is he? Anyway, if you see him, give him my regards. Oh, and if you ever need me, I'll be here." I thanked him and continued my path out of the settlement.

I walked the distance back to my apartment and found it empty. My boyfriend must have been off somewhere. I really didn't care at this point. I walked over to my couch and fell asleep.


	6. Trains

The next morning I donned my military uniform for the first time in over a week, and headed to Mustang's office. On my way there, Sergeant Fuery saw me and waved. "Alison! Hey, Ali!" he called.

"Oh, hi, Kain!" I called back.

"Where have you been? I've missed you," he said, "I haven't had anyone it eat lunch with in so long."

"Aww, Kain!" I cried, "Those jerks are being mean to you again! I'm so sorry." Poor Kain, everyone's always so mean to him, just because he's a nerd. In response to my worry, he just laughed and rubbed the back of his head. I lung my arm around his shoulder and told him I'd buy him lunch today. He tried to argue, but I threatened him to shut his mouth. It can be so convenient being the only State Alchemist, other than Mustang, in our little group.

Right before we got back to the office, Kain decided now would be a good time to tell me Mustang was being transferred to Central, and he was taking his entire team, including me, with him. I snapped at Kain for not telling me sooner and ran into the building to find Mustang. He confirmed this news and told me we would all be heading out in the train stopped in Terminal 3.

I ran home, completely flustered. I kept wishing someone had told me this earlier. But then again, I haven't been anywhere near the office in days. I mentally slapped myself for not checking in more often. Then I remembered the phone call I'd made two days ago. From the way Mustang and Fuery talked, it seemed as if they both had known about the transfer for several days, not two. I made a mental note to kick their asses later.

When I got home, Lieu jumped into my arms. "You're going to Central, big guy!" I said. My voice was full of joy, and I knew it. This transfer was just what I needed to clear my mind and focus my thoughts. Besides, if I wanted to find Scar again, Central was probably the biggest hub for gossip. I'd hear word of him; I know I would.

My happy feeling came crashing down as I heard my boyfriend's voice come from further in my house. "What do you mean, 'Going to Central'?" he asked. I explained about the transfer, but he just grew angry with me. "How can you be leaving? You work here!" he yelled.

"No, I work where Roy Mustang works!" I countered. "He was transferred, so I have to follow. You can come too, you know. Mustang said the military is providing housing for each of the agents he's bringing."

"That's not the point! You can't just get up and leave like this!" he shouted.

"And why not! You leave often enough!" I snapped at him.

"That's completely different! And where the hell have you been lately?" he demanded.

"I was helping someone down in that Ishvalan settlement, like I normally am," I said calmly.

"Why in the hell do you insist on helping those failures?" he scoffed. I felt my anger swell into a blistering fury. He knew how much I cared for those people, but he insisted on tormenting me for it.

Lieu mewed suddenly, and I came back to my senses. I cradled him in my arms and pushed past my boyfriend. I grabbed the first few pieces of clothes I grabbed and shoved them in a travel bag. I grabbed my alchemy notebooks, coded in various weather patterns that even Mustang couldn't decipher, and shoved them in the bag as well. After I had everything I needed, I ran out of the house, ignoring everything my boyfriend said along the way. Right before I slammed the door behind me, I grabbed Lieu and held him close to my chest. I heard my boyfriend calling after me, but I refused to turn around. I'd never let him see the tears rolling down my face. The funny thing was, as I walked away, I imagined what Scar was thinking as he walked away down in that village.

I stared to head towards the train station, and by the time I got there, I had dried my tears. I saw the sign for Terminal 3 and ran towards it. Mustang told me to board this train for its 3:30 departure. I check my State Alchemist issued pocket watch and the time was 3:24. I hurried to board the train in time. I made it, thank goodness, but I didn't see anyone else, so I just took an unoccupied seat near the back of the car. The others were probably scattered around the other cars. Or at least, that's what I assumed.

About an hour after the train had left the station, I realized I wasn't heading for Central. The train was heading southwest. That idiot. Mustang must have given me the wrong information. I'm really not surprised. He probably was still mad at me for disappearing and gave me the wrong train on purpose just to try and scare me. _Oh well,_ I thought. I liked the South, and I heard the Elric brothers had gone down here recently. Maybe I'd get to see them before heading up to Central.

The train stopped in a small town named Dublith. It looked like a cute little place to live, and the name sounded familiar. I asked an older woman if she knew anyone by the name of Elric, and she told me the boys were staying at the local butcher shop. I almost didn't believe her, but then she showed me the shop and sure enough, Al was standing outside, sweeping the porch.

I ran over to him and waved. I called his name and his head shot up. "Second Lieutenant Citrona, What are you doing here?" he asked politely.

"Please, Al, call me Alison!"

"Oh, sorry," the giant hunk if metal replied. It always amazed me how he was so big and frightening, but he sounded and acted like the kid he was.

"Don't be sorry," I said, laughing at his shy demeanor.

"Um… right. So why are you here again? This place isn't exactly close to East City."

"Mustang sent me on the wrong train, but that's not important right now. Where's Ed?" I asked. Al was silent for a moment. If his face could have shown emotion, he probably would have been confused. I've known Ed and Al for two years now, and I've always felt so sorry for them. To go so far to bring back their mother, those boys must have wills of steel. I'm also still surprised Al told be everything that happened. Ed gave him the riot act, but I think Al noticed I'd been thinking about human transmutation myself. I suppose, everyone who's lost someone precious would want to bring him back. I know I did. But after Al explained what happened to him and his brother, I knew I'd never be able to revive Daein.

"Ed when up to South City. He needed to do his assessment," Al explained.

"Oh no…" I said as by body went stiff and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. A look of pure horror crossed my face.

"What's wrong Alison, you look just like Ed… You haven't completed you assessment yet have you!" Al deduced. I chuckled a bit and nodded. Great, now I really needed to get to Central. Mustang was going to kill me. And, to make things worse, I had no idea what to do.

"Hey Al, I need your help. I have no idea what the hell I could possibly do to keep my license!" I started walking back and forth as a million ideas flew threw my mind.

"What have you done before?" Al asked. I stopped pacing and thought about it. I explained all the tests I've done before, which included creating lightning storms, grand illusions, fierce rain, and intense elements like you would find in a desert or the arctic.

"Wait! That's it!" I yelled. It started to explain how I could create bursts of flames in a certain area, but before I even got started Al said he was more confused then he'd ever been before. I just laughed and explained it in simpler tones, "Basically, I can concentrate oxygen in certain areas, then create the same effect clouds do when lighting strikes. If the lightning hits the pockets of oxygen, the heat created by the lightning will cause an explosion!"

"Oh! I get it! That seems kinda violent, though. I wouldn't really expect that of you," Al said, still sounding very confused.

"It'll please the officials grading me though. Almost everyone is so bent on being the perfect army, so having the ability to create things like this ensures my position as a State Alchemist." Al nodded in understanding, noting that it made sense. At that moment, a slender woman with long, black dreadlocks stepped out of the butcher shop.

"Al why the hell-!" the woman started to yell, but then she saw me and said, "Who are you?" in a rather rude tone.

"Don't mind her, she's like this with everyone," Al whispered almost to softly for me to hear, much less the woman.

"Um… My name is Alison Citrona, I'm a friend of the Elric brothers," I explained.

"Citrona… where have I heard that name before?" the woman asked.

"I'm a State Alchemist? That might be it," I told her. I regretted it, though, because as soon as I had spoken her face became enraged. Then it softened.

"You are?" she asked, "You sure as hell don't look like one. But then again, that little idiot Ed is a State Alchemist. What's your State Name?"

"I'm the Aurora Alchemist," I told her. She nodded as if she approved of something. Then she said, "Okay then, Alison, if you're a friend of these kids, then you're welcome to stay here." She waved her hand towards the shop as if she wanted me to enter.

"Oh no! I couldn't. Besides, I really need to get going. Actually, the only reason I'm here is because my boss told me to get on the wrong train…" My voice had steadily dropped as I added in that last fact, and the woman burst out laughing. "Uh, Miss…?"

"Izumi, Izumi Curtis," she said, "And would that 'boss' by any chance be Colonel Mustang?"

"Yes, actually, how did you know?" I asked.

"I just remembered Ed saying something about you the other day, I'll be damned if I remember what it was though. But, I do remember what he said about Mustang!" Izumi said and stared laughing again. Al chuckled along with her now. I smiled and decided I'd spend the night with them. Izumi showed me inside, but when Al tried to follow, she snapped at him to get back to sweeping. He rushed to get back to cleaning. He seemed so afraid of her. Who was this woman?

Inside the shop was brightly lit but cold. Meat hung on hooks around the room with prices listed on each piece. A large counter stood before some of the nicer cuts in an attempt to prevent them from being stolen. I didn't think the counter was necessary, though, because behind it was a man even bigger then Major Armstrong holding a gigantic knife. I started to assume he was the reason Al had been so frightened.

I would have kept on assuming this, if Lieu hadn't jumped out of the bag I'd hidden her in (cat's weren't aloud on the train) and ran towards the man. I called out to the cat to come back, but he didn't stop. He looked up at me and had the more terrifying and confused face I have ever seen. Then he bent down to pick up Lieu. At first, I was terrified of what the man might do, but then he just patted my cat's head and handed him back to me. "Um… Thank you," I murmured.

Behind me, Izumi started to laugh hysterically. Not long after she had begun, she started to cough up blood. The giant man left the counter and was at her side in an instant. He draped a blanket over her shoulders and told her she needed to stop getting so worked up. She responded by proclaiming her love to the man and thanking him for caring about her so much. While this was happening, I walked backwards towards the entrance to the shop.

After the two had embraced, Izumi turned to me and explained that the man was Sig Curtis, her husband and the owner of the butcher shop. Izumi then explained to Sig that I was a friend of the Elrics and that I would be staying the night here. Sig responded by welcoming me, and apologizing for scaring me. I laughed and apologized for being scared in the first place.

Afterwards, Sig said he wanted to know why I was called the Aurora Alchemist. So, I showed him. I pulled out the inscribed gloves, similar to Colonel Mustang's, that I always carried, and created a grand, colorful aurora in the middle of his shop. Lieu crawled on my head as I worked so he could get a better view. I flooded the shop with one of the most beautiful (Author's note: I spell beautiful the same way I spell lieutenant…) aurora I've ever created. Splashes of red and purple blended seamlessly with streaks of blues and greens. Sig looked completely mesmerized, but Izumi showed little wonder. Still, I could tell by her eyes that she thought it was amazing.

After the last shreds of color vanished, Izumi asked me how I earned my license with this skill. I laughed and told her Sig asked me how I earned my name, not my license. I earned my license because of what I can do with elements in of the atmosphere. Izumi seemed to understand, but Sig just looked hopelessly confused. I told him to give me some time, and I'd give him another show. He seemed to take this as a bet, and agreed.

Behind the counter of the butcher shop was a hallway that lead into a cozy home, complete with two bedrooms, a living area, and a kitchen. Izumi showed me the smaller of the two bedrooms and said the Elric's were sharing it. Two beds filled the room, buy we both solemnly knew Al wouldn't be using the second one. Izumi told me to take that bed for the night. It occurred to me it really wasn't all that proper for me to be sharing a room with two boys, but then I thought about all the nights I'd spent in the Ishvalan settlement with Kayal and Scar, so I didn't bring it up with Izumi. Besides, I easily had more than ten years on the boys.

Izumi left me alone for a few minutes so I could change into more comfortable clothes, I was still wearing my uniform, and placed my bags around the bed. Now wearing an old t-shirt and cargo pants, I left the bedroom and returned to the front of the house, where the shop was. Sig was standing close to the hallway, and Izumi was near the entrance to the shop. She looked furious.

"Where the hell did he go now!" she shouted. Sig explained to me that Al had gone missing. "He probably just went out for a walk, it is a beautiful day, after all," I said. "But I told him to clean up this mess!" Izumi shouted, but then she started coughing blood again, and just like before Sig was standing near her before I had realized he moved. He asked her to stop getting so worked up again, but I'm pretty sure we all knew that wasn't going to happen.

Still, we put Al out of our minds for the moment. He probably saw a cat walk past and chased after it. My best guess said he'd come home with his armor full of them. Speaking of cats, Lieu was also missing. I told Sig and he immediately offered to help me look, but Izumi took a little more convincing. Sadly, as soon as we did convince her, she checked in one of the freezers and found the little kitten nibbling on a cheap piece of meat. Izumi picked up the cat and handed him to me, saying I would have to pay for the meat he ate. I laughed and was about to pay, but Sig stopped me and told me it wasn't a big deal if I paid or not. I insisted on paying, though, because I was staying the night here for free, after all.

I spent the rest of the day working on my assessment. By the time dinner was ready, I was pretty sure I had the theory perfect. Now I just needed to test it. I didn't want to do the test anywhere near Izumi and Sig's house, though, because of the small chance that I lost control and ended up destroying anything and everything around me. Luckily, the best opportunity came up after we finished eating. The assistant who worked at the shop mentioned that he heard rumors that Al had gone into an old factory on the other side of town. He also said that the person who saw Al also saw some shady men that belonged to the Devil's Nest bar. Izumi wanted to get Al back, and I offered to go with her.

"No!" she argued at first. "This will probably get dangerous and if you're a friend of those boy and you get hurt, I'll never hear the end of it," she went on.

"But Miss Izumi, I am classified as a Major in the military. It's not like I don't have experience with danger. And don't you go thinking pretty lights are the only things I can create," I said firmly. She stared at me, her eyes burning, but I didn't avert my gaze. Suddenly, she sighed and agreed to let me come. "Thank you, Miss Izumi!" I said while a smile spread across my face, "Besides, this will give me the perfect chance to test out something new," I said and then started to laugh maniacally.

This got Izumi laughing too, "I think I like this girl, Sig," she called. The gigantic man smiled at her and laughed. He'd been holding Lieu, but after he laughed, the stupid cat jumped away from him in fear and ran to me. "Might as well take the cat," Izumi said. I thanked her again, and we headed for the Devil's Nest.


	7. Chimera

When we arrived, four large men greeted us. Lieu immediately grew afraid, so he buried himself in my shirt, behind my back. One man said we shouldn't be sniffing around down there. Another told us to scram. Izumi responding by remarking that they were easy to understand. I looked at her with a confused look, but she just started walking past the men, so I follow her. All at once, the men started to attack us. Izumi easily and immediately took out two of the men. I went for the other two. I jumped into the air and used the first man's face to jump higher. He staggered back and covered his broken nose. The other stupidly rushed under me, so I dropped kicked his ass. He fell to the ground clutching his neck. It probably wasn't broken, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt like a bitch.

Broken-Nose had stood back up by this point, he charged at me, but I avoided him. One of the men Izumi had attack started to stand up, saying we underestimated him. He started to call Izumi a hag, but he for he could say anything else she clapped her hands together and placed on one the wall. I gigantic fist formed out of the wall and crushed the two men that had fought Izumi and the one I hadn't dropped yet.

One of the goons started to freak out saying Izumi was a witch. He calmed down when another thug told him she was only an alchemist and ordered guns to be brought out. Except, guns weren't brought out. Instead, a man bigger than both Major Armstrong and Sig Curtis crawled out of the Nest. He asked what was going on, but answered his own question when he saw Izumi and me.

"Women!" he cried, "I love women!" Both Izumi and I braced ourselves as the enormous monster of a man ran towards us. Before he could even get close, though, Sig punched him flat across the face. "Don't flirt with my woman, you bastard!" he shouted. He then continued to beat the hell out of the man. Izumi and I both fell over in a fit of laughter. "That's my husband!" Izumi yelled.

"We still need answers," I said. "Oh, right," Izumi said. The remaining guards, two of which were crying, told us not to underestimate them, and came charging. Needless to say, they experienced pain.

After they decided staying down was the only way to escape suicide, Izumi picked one and demanded he tell us where Al was. The guard was still being difficult, though. Or at least, he was until Izumi started coughing up blood again. And right on his head, too. Then he told us where Al was.

He explained a very long and convoluted passage through underground tunnels. I figured it would be a whole lot faster of Izumi just transmuted a door into the room Al was in. So she did. More guards were in the hallway were she made the door, so we had to take them out first. Izumi entered the room dragging one of the guards behind her.

She used that guard to throw at Al. The guard hit his face and Izumi yelled, "You idiot. Why the hell did you get kidnapped!" Al muttered "sorry" in response. He sounded like he was begging Izumi not to murder him.

Some more goons inside grew angry because they thought we were ignoring them. "Who do you think you are?" one of them asked Izumi. "I'm a housewife!" she shouted at them with a fury that could have killed someone. Actually, I'm a bit surprised no one did die.

Instead, most of the goons started attacking us. Sig had stayed behind to keep watch, and Al had his hands bound in a chain. So, it was just Izumi and I fighting. Still, we didn't break a sweat flooring each and every one of them. Even a man the size and build of Major Armstrong couldn't put up a fight. Most of that was all thanks to Izumi. She just kicks ass. I couldn't, and still can't, think of any better way to describe her.

The only goon left standing after that was clearly the leader of this little mess. "Hey now, that wasn't very nice," he said. Izumi walked over to him and demanded he return Al. He flatly refused. I was frankly shock. After seeing what the 'housewife' had done, there was no way I'd ever say 'no' to her. But he did. He's probably going to die.

"Is that so?" asked Izumi. Then she punched him straight in the temple. But he didn't even appear fazed. Izumi pulled her hand away, and the man's skin had developed a black, slick appearance. Blood covered Izumi's knuckles. What was this man?

"Izumi!" I called at the same moment Al called "Master!" She just shook her hand and remarked that this man had an interesting body. The black surface that had appeared on his temple was now spreading across his face and chest.

"Master, Alison, this person is a Homunculus!" Al shouted. "He knows how we can get our bodies back!" Greed went on to confirm this. He also said he'd tell us how to create a Homunculus, but first we had to agreed to make Ed tell him how he bonded Al's soul to the suit of armor. Reluctantly, Izumi agreed. Al and I protested, but it was pretty clear there was no other way out of this situation.

So, after a parting threat, Izumi left to pick up Ed. She asked me to stay behind and make sure nothing happened to Al while she was gone. "Yes, ma'am!" I said and saluted. "Good," she replied and left.

A few of the goons had stood back up by now, and I had nothing better to do, so I decided to find out who they were. I learned that they were all chimeras. "But…but that's not possible!" I protested. I thought of Nina and her mother and what Tucker had done to them. I also thought of Scar. I found myself suddenly wondering where he was right now and what he was doing.

After my little outburst, Greed, the homunculus, explained that anything was possible underground. Three of the chimeras seemed more willing than the others to share information with me. They even told me their names. There was Roa, he was part ox, and Martel, who was part snake. She was sitting inside Al and was the main reason why he didn't just snap the chains around his wrists. The third chimera's name was Dorchet. He was part dog so, naturally, Lieu hated him. They both sat for the longest time just glaring at each other.

(Author's note: I found at least four spellings and three pronunciations of Dorchet's name… algkhroiuonvf;.bhae I'm going with the spelling that's being used in the version I'm reading right now. As for the pronunciation, I say it "door-shay". I don't know if that's right, but I think it almost sounds French, and I really want to learn French, so yeah. BTW, according to Word, I'm supposed to spell it 'douche'…o.O)

After I'd asked about their lives, Dorchet and the others wanted to know about me. I told them I was the Aurora Alchemist and that I was supposed to be in Central, but I was sent on the wrong train. Martel found this hilarious. Looking back, it was pretty amusing. And I got to enjoy a day off… after a week off. Well, someone did say the best time to take a vacation was just after the one you're on ends.

Shortly after that conversation ended, Ed decided to show up. He and Greed almost immediately got into a fight. I stayed sitting by Al, Roa, Martel, who was still inside Al, and Dorchet, who had been seriously injured as soon as Ed came in. After the fight between Ed and Greed grew more intense, Roa decided he should take all away before anything happened that would get in the way of Greed discovering the key to immortality through the process Ed used to bind Al's soul to the armor.

"Ahh, hey!" I called after them. I chased Roa, who was carrying Al, Martel, and Dorchet, down a side hallway. Despite carrying two adults and a giant suit of armor, Roa was surprisingly fast. I could just barely keep up with him. Not that I really wanted to fight, I just didn't want to hear Ed chew me out over anything later. Besides, the three chimeras were definitely not alchemist, so there really wasn't anything they could do to Al anyway.

After a short run, Roa stopped as he realized Ed and Greed were busy, he couldn't do anything with Al, and I wasn't going to fight. Dorchet had woken up as well and was demanding to be put down. At first he cursed at Ed, but then he started to sulk and whimpered about being on a losing streak. You could practically see the tail between his legs.

He perked up suddenly, though, and said he smelled something unpleasant. Roa agreed, but added that the scent seemed nostalgic. Gunshots could be heard above. "It's the military!" came Martel's muffled voice from inside Al. Lieu added his own frantic mew to her cry. I looked over my shoulder where he was handing, and his ears were folded against his head and the fur on his neck was standing up. I suddenly got a very bad feeling.

"This isn't good," I said. Dorchet asked, "Why?" so I explained that the only reason the military would be here would be to eradicate everyone in the club. Dorchet and the other chimeras didn't seem to doubt that, but Al did.

"Would the military really come here to kill everyone?" he asked. I responded with a short, firm, "yes," and afterwards he went along with what I said. However, although the chimeras believed me about the military presence, they obviously weren't going to just trust me.

"Look…er, listen," I said, "I know you won't trust me now, but you have to believe I had death. I hate when anyone dies, so I try to stop it as much as I can," I explained quickly. "If you don't want to get hurt, you'll have to follow my lead. Don't worry about Greed. From what I've seen, he won't need out help." I added that part about Greed when Dorchet started to protest leaving him.

I explained a plan where Roa and Dorchet would clear a path to an exit. Meanwhile, I would head with Martel down a different path towards the same exit point. This would have gone as planned if a few soldiers hadn't appeared. Dorchet, still angry about his 'losing streak', charged straight for them. Martel, who had obediently left Al, followed after me as I followed them. When we caught up, Roa was in an intense fight with Major Armstrong. As soon as I saw him, I hid behind a corner.

"They don't know I'm here!" I hissed at Martel and Dorchet's confused looks. Several more soldiers appeared to reinforce Armstrong, but he told them to stay back. One soldier shouted that Fuehrer Bradley had arrived. Fear stuck me then. If he was here then this would be that same as the massacre in Ishval.

"Dorchet, you need to get Roa over hear and leave!" I said. Dorchet nodded and started to call Roa, but then a sword appeared in his stomach. Bradley came walking out of a hole in the wall Roa had made earlier. Without thinking, I held up my still gloved hands and used my alchemy to plunge the room into darkness. The effect looked like an ordinary smoke bomb. In the confusion, I pulled Martel and Roa into a run behind me and picked up the now more seriously injured Dorchet along the way.

Once we were free of my diversion, Roa grabbed Dorchet. It was obvious I wouldn't have been able to drag him along anymore. The four of us ran straight to a dead end. Martel cursed, but I told her to wait and watch. I picked a sharp stone off the floor and drew a simple transmutation circle on the wall. Placing my hands inside the circle, I created a simple yet large door that lead into a sewer. We ran inside.

The light the bar provided grew increasingly dim as we ran father away from it. Pretty soon we couldn't see at all. I brushed my fingers against the walled and lit molecules of neon and xenon in the air. The gases glow when heated, and the were abundant down here, so we gained plenty of light to see by. However, if any soldier came after us, we'd be glowing in the middle of a pitch-black sewer. I wasn't too concerned with that at the moment, though. My bigger concern was the looming figure that was appearing before us.

Out of the gloom, Fuehrer Bradley strode wielding two bloody swords. "Go!" Roa shouted at Martel and me, but I wasn't about to leave him to die at the hands of Bradley. Not after everything I've already done. Instead, I clapped my hands together and focused on heating the air around me. After I had a ready supply if heat, I turned my focus on the oxygen in the air. I tried to center pockets of pure, volatile oxygen around Bradley. When I felt I had a sufficient number, I yelled, "Run!" Roa and Martel, who had been dodging Bradley, didn't hesitate. The minute they were out of harm's way, I hoped, I let loose the chain of explosions. The heat and shock were intense, but I knew they weren't stable enough to cause any real damage. Still, this proved to be a more effective diversion than my smoke screen, and Martel, Roa, Dorchet, and I were able to make a clean getaway.

Once we were free of the sewers and Bradley, I immediately went to work binding and cleaning Dorchet's wound. Surprisingly, Bradley had avoided all major organs, so after I had the bleeding stopped, Dorchet was basically fine. The blood loss would leave him weak for a few hours, but that wouldn't be enough to endanger his life. He was unconscious, though, and Roa said that it was best. If he'd been awake, we never would have gotten him to leave Greed. Martel added that he had the loyalty of a dog.

Shortly after we had made it too safety, another chimera can running for us. Unlike the others, I could clearly see that this newcomer was a chimera. His face didn't quite look human, but what really gave it away was the long tail dragging behind him. Martel addressed him as Bido.

Bido desperately wanted to know what had happened, and if Dorchet was alright. Roa reluctantly explained the situation. While he did so, I took the opportunity to leave. I'd helped then escape, but I figured I should leave it up to them to decide what to do know. Unfortunately, Dorchet had woken up and ran after me.

"Wait!" he called. "You can't just leave." He looked me straight in the eyes and I was sure I could see the dog in his DNA. "I'm sorry, Dorchet, but I have places I have to go," I told him.

"You saved our lives! You can't just leave without giving us the chance to thank you!" he yelled after me. Martel and Roa were behind him now and nodded. Bido looked confused, but he seemed like he'd back Dorchet anyway.

"You say Greed will be fine, but you don't believe that yourself, do you?" Martel asked.

"We have no place else to go, and neither do you know. That man was the Fuehrer. Typically, leaders don't like it when their subordinates attack them to help the enemy escape," Roa added.

"Since none of us have anywhere to go, why don't we follow you?" Dorchet suggested.

"Ahh! No, no, no, no, no!" I said, "I'm not a leader! Besides, you guys are alive, you should just live your lives. Don't think about following anyone or anything like that. Just do what you want from now on!"

"But then how are we supposed to thank you!" Martel asked.

"You can thank me by taking advantage of the life God has given you," I told her. She blinked, but backed away. She closed her eyes and nodded. Roa still looked like he wanted to put up a fight, though, but he calmed when Dorchet told him, "She's right. We're alive, we should take advantage of that. But still, Alison if you ever need us, for anything, just let us know," the dog-chimera finished.

(Author's Note: Oops. While I was writing this part, I was reading the part in the manga when May Chang first appears…and I realized 'Kayal' was the name of the miner guy's son. I swear I came up with that name first!)

"Thanks," I said. The four chimeras waved goodbye and I headed out of the city. I didn't want to take the risk of letting anyone in the military see me. I wanted to say good-bye to Ed and Al, but I knew that would be too risky. Instead, I made my way as fast and as stealthily as I could out Dublith. I wasn't sure where to go, but I knew Mustang would be waiting for me. Central might not have been the best place for me to go, but I knew Mustang would help me. Or at least, he wouldn't rat me out.

But then, another thought came to my mind. I could run from the military. If I went to Central, I had no doubt that I'd hear rumors about Scar. I told myself, as a plan B at first, that I could probably convince him to just let me follow him around, just so I wouldn't be alone.

Either way, I needed to head to Central. I could have easily taken a train, but I knew all the trains would be filled with soldiers heading back with the Fuehrer. So instead, I decided I'd take my time and enjoy a nice walk up to the capital of Amestris. Well it would have been a nice walk, if I had remembered it would take days to get there on foot and I had no food or water with me, nor had I remembered to buy any. After three days, I was positive I was going to die. That's when a cart being lead by a donkey nearly ran me over.


	8. Thugs

I had decided to stop for a short rest to regain some strength, but before I could even catch my breath, a cart came racing behind me and nearly ran me over. The driver had been facing the carriage of the cart, presumably speaking with a passenger. If I hadn't been dehydrated to the point of death, I would have raised hell. But at least Lieu did. He'd been sleeping straight through these last few days, so when the cart drove by he woke up and ran towards it hissing. If he'd been something bigger, like a lion maybe, I'm sure those hisses would have been blood-curdling growls. Unfortunately, he's not a lion. He's a kitten.

The cart had stopped several feet away from me. The driver must have turned and saw me at the last moment. That would explain why I hadn't been hit, at least. Now that it had stopped, I could see the driver. _Aww, damn…_ I thought. The driver was none other than that pathetic excuse of a man, Yoki.

I hated the man, but if I was going to survive, I would need his help. Or, maybe the person in the carriage would help me instead. Yoki jumped down off the seat of the cart and ran over to me. He must not have seen me before he almost _ran me over_, me cause when he realized who I was, fear and surprise spread across his face. "I need water. _Now,_" I growled. Yoki yipped and ran back towards the cart to get the water. The passenger must have said something, because Yoki responded by yelling, "I am so sorry! But ah, we, that is _I, _nearly ran over…" He stopped speaking suddenly, probably because the passenger interrupted him. "S-she, that is, the woman I almost hit, asked for water and-," Yoki started again. He paused for a few moments, then added, "B-but she's… yes, Scarred Sir."

"Scarred Sir?" I yelped. I had been sitting, but when Yoki said that I stood up and ran over to the cart. If Yoki was calling someone 'Scarred Sir', that could only mean one thing. As I got closer to the cart, I saw a glimpse of the passenger inside. I saw a heavily tattooed, dark-skinned arm. Then I became horribly dizzy and fell forward. "Bad idea…" I muttered. But at least I knew it was definitely Scar inside that carriage. And I was fairly sure he would have been able to see me running… and falling.

Now I knew I was in bad shape. I lie on the ground staring up at the sky, watching the clouds blow by, and I started to laugh. Yoki looked at me like I was crazy, and Scar started to walk out of the carriage. The last time I had seen Scar, his life was in my hands. Now our positions were reversed, and for some reason I found this immensely amusing. "Hey, do you guys have any food? Or at least some water? I think I'm gonna die soon," I laughed.

I heard a sigh, and Scar walked over to me carrying some bread and a canteen. I sat up again and ripped them from his hands muttering "thank you," in between bites. "Now we're even," Scar said. I looked up at him with a confused expression. Then I realized what he meant. "Oh! No, you don't have to pay me back for that! I didn't help you because I wanted anyone to return the favor! Besides, Kayal was begging me so I couldn't refuse. Actually, I should probably owe you now." I raised my hands in front of me of emphasize my point.

"What are you doing here?" Scar asked. I thought for a moment, then decided I shouldn't sit on the ground anymore. "It's a bit of a long story," I said. I vaguely wondered if Scar would remember when I said the same the first time we'd met after the civil war. He responded by saying, "I have time," so I suspected he did.

I laughed again and started explaining the whole 'wrong train' deal. Then I launched into the trouble in Dublith with the chimera and ended by saying, "But at least I got a little more vacation time."

"Wait, Colonel Mustang…accidentally sent you on the wrong train?" Yoki asked. I laughed again, "No, or at least probably not. It's far more likely that he was still pissed at me for disappearing without word for a week." I paused for a few moments, then added, "And he'll probably give me the riot act for what I did in Dublith, so I should probably avoid him for now. So it's Plan B!"

"W-What's plan B?" Yoki yelped. I gave him an evil grin. Then turned my attention back to Scar. "'Plan B' is following you two since I have nowhere else to go," I explained. Yoki started to protest, but Scar interrupted him. "You said you owe me, right?" the scarred Ishvalan asked. When I nodded he added, "Then you drive." I smiled and responded "Yes sir!"

Scar walked back into the carriage, and I took the driver's seat and made Yoki sit on the donkey. Yoki looked depressed. He muttered something about not even being able to drive a cart. I looked at him and reminded him that he almost ran me over. This made the tiny man shrink away from me in fear. I laughed at him and called Lieu. The cat was still hissing at the cart from behind a tree, but when he heard his name he ran towards me and jumped into the carriage. He started batting around some crushed walnut shells. Scar didn't seem to mind him, so I just shrugged and hurried the donkey along. "We're going to Central, right?" I asked. Yoki turned to me and nodded, so off we went.

I steered the cart along a mostly straight path for several hours. The sun was bright, but it was a relatively cool day, so I was comfortable. At least, I was until I started to get hungry again. The small amount of food Scar had given me wasn't nearly enough to last for the hours I knew it would take for us to reach Central. I was about to ask for more, but then I stopped. I didn't want to be a burden, and I was afraid that if I asked for too much, Scar would become angry and leave me on the side of the road.

The donkey walked faster than I had, but we still went pretty slowly. After the hours we had spent since Scar and Yoki found me, the sun had set but we were still miles away from Central. It must have been around six o'clock when I thought it would be best to stop for the night.

"The donkey can't keep up anymore. He'll die of exhaustion," I explained. Scar seemed irritated, but he didn't argue. Yoki did, but I ignored him. Scar stayed inside the carriage, so Yoki and I stayed outside to sleep under the stars. I didn't mind, we had dinner so I wasn't hungry, and the sky was crystal clear so all the stars shined down on me. A cool breeze flew through the valley we stopped in, and I felt myself peacefully fall asleep.

I was awaked in the middle of the night when a sack was thrown over my head. I screamed and kicked, but the ones holding me were strong. I heard men whispering things like, "Look what we found," and "What a prize!" I figured these guys were just another gang of thugs, but that didn't mean they weren't dangerous. The thugs carried me for a short distance then threw me onto a hard surface. It was probably another wooden cart. Laughter sounded around me as I felt the cart lurch into motion. "C'mon, Pretty, you're gonna be our friend tonight," one of the thugs said to me.

My hands had been bound and I still had the sack on my head, but I was far from defenseless. I earned my State Alchemist license for a reason, and I was still wearing my inscribed gloves. I concentrated on creating a black cloud, similar to the one I made in Dublith, around the cart. I heard curses and confused shouts, and then the cart crashed. _So far so good,_ I thought. I managed to roll out of the shattered cart, though I struck a shattered piece of the rail and cut my arm, and landed on the ground. Using the piece of wood I cut myself on, I snapped the ropes around my hands. Afterwards, I ripped the sack of my head and was amused to see the havoc I had created. Four men had kidnapped me, and all four were now injured and still disoriented.

The one who had spoken to me earlier turned and saw that my hands were free and I could see. By now the cloud had faded, so I could see the look of fear on his face as he realized I had caused it. He held up his hands in surrender and the other three thugs followed suit. I wasn't going to waste my time with them, but then I saw a gleam in the smallest thugs eyes, and I turned to see a fifth goon swinging a makeshift club at me.

I jumped out of the way at the last second and ran off to the side. Now that my concentration was broken, the cloud fully disappeared the first four charged at me. One of them held a knife, so I took extra precaution to keep him at a distance. The one with the club came after me again, but I caught his swinging arm in mine and pulled myself up so I could kick his face. He dropped the club as he stepped back to nurse his broken, bleeding nose. I grabbed his club and smashed it across the head of another goon. The impact shattered the weapon, but now I only had three enemies instead of five. The thug with the knife was still a problem, though.

I wanted to take him out next, but the other two got in my way. I crouched to the ground and kicked one's legs out from under him. He fell, but he stood shakily back up. The second swung at me, but I was able to dodge it. I quick kick connected with my back, and I cried out. The two weaponless thugs were now both on their feet and surrounding me. Knife was getting closer too.

I didn't want to use alchemy again, but I needed to do something. I clapped my hands together and the air grew hotter. Lightning cracked around us. A bolt struck the goon behind me, so I took the opportunity to land a punch on the other goon's face. I felt his jaw crack. He clutched the broken bone and it seemed like he would stand up, but then he must have thought again and he laid on the ground. The first goon, the one with the broken nose, had managed to regain his feet and took Jaw's place. I jumped in the air and landed a kick to Nose's shoulder. He fell and stayed down after that.

I turned to face the last thug, but I was surprised to see Scar was already fighting him. A long cut ran down the Ishvalan's arm, but he looked otherwise uninjured. The same couldn't be said for Knife. He had numerous bruises forming around his face and his lip was bleeding. Knife tried once more the slash Scar, but he dodged and grabbed the goon. Red light ran down the tattoos on his arm as he used the alchemy to tear the goon apart.

I walked up to him and shouted, "I coulda taken him!" Scar looked at my face then at the gash that covered my right arm. "He was about to run that knife through your skull," Scar responded.

"I still coulda taken him," I muttered, then I noticed the cut along Scar's arm and snapped, "You're hurt!" He looked down at his arm, then said I was hurt too. I was, but his cut was so much deeper than mine. His was bleeding heavily, too. He tried to object to me treating him, but I told him, "Shut up. If I don't stop the bleeding you'll probably die in an hour." I'm not sure if he believed that, but he stopped arguing.

Before we went back, though, I wanted to see if the thugs had anything valuable. It looked like the thugs kept everything they had in the cart…that I destroyed. Random items were scattered around the site. I picked threw them but couldn't find anything worth taking. Then I found a large chest. Inside it, I found enough food to last Scar, Yoki, Lieu, and me several weeks. I smiled when I found it. Tonight I could eat as much as I wanted and we'd still have plenty!

I started to carry the chest, but it was much heavier than I thought it would have been. I could carry it back, but it must have been obvious that I was struggling, because Scar walked over to me and took the chest. "I can carry it," I called after him. He ignored me and continued walking back to our campsite. "Hey! Listen to me!" I called again. He was still ignoring me so I just ran after him.

We walked back to where the cart was parked and I saw Lieu attacking Yoki. "Stop your damned cat!" he cried. I started to laugh, but pain ripped across my ribs. That goon's kick must have been stronger than I thought. Scar looked at me, but I ignored him and called my cat. Afterwards, I ran to the cart and pulled out the medical kit I always carried. Inside were several rolls of bandages and some ointments. I took some of the ointments and bandages and walked back over to the campsite we had built the night before.

Scar had already sat by the burnt-out fire and had begun to rebuild it. He used his right hand so his left was free for me to bind. While I worked, I remembered what Scar's master had said about me always rushing to help others before I even considered my own injuries. Well, my wound wasn't deep or wide, so it can wait the few minutes it would take me to wrap Scar's much deeper and wider wound.

A few splinters pecked my wound, but they were easy to pull out, though it was a bit painful, and I was able to wrap my arm with little difficulty. After I was done with my arm, I turned back to Scar. A wound that deep could easily have severed muscles and nerves and could leave his arm paralyzed.

"Just flex your hand, open and close it a few times," I told him. He asked if this was necessary, so I told him, "If I don't check you could completely lose the ability to move your arm." I gave him a look that said, "Do you really want that," and he opened and closed his hand several times. Then, I had him move his arm up and down and flex his muscles. Everything was working perfectly.

While Scar and I were occupied, Yoki had been throwing a fit. He continuously asked where we had been, what happened, and why we were covered in blood and wounded. Lieu wanted to know, too. He walked over to me and started to lick at my bandaged arm. I picked the cat up and held him close to my chest. He purred.

Yoki was still flipping out, though. I could have explained the entire mess, but instead I said, "Some thugs came while we were asleep and decided to kidnap me. So, I beat the hell out of most of them. Scar got one, too." Yoki looked shocked that he had missed all of this, but then shock turned to fear as Lieu jumped out of my arms and started to attack him again. "I guess he blames you," I chuckled.

I laughed harder when Yoki started to beg me to stop my cat again. I couldn't laugh long, however, because my ribs started to ache. The thug who kicked me must have been stronger than I thought. Scar must have seen my cringe, because he looked down at me. I assured him I was fine, but he didn't look convinced. Actually, I thought he was going to say something about my injuries, but instead he said, "Why are you so concerned with my injuries?"

I looked at Scar, confused. "I'm not sure," I murmured. And I wasn't. Normally, I would go through every step to make sure someone I was treating was alright. This might sound rude, but most of these steps really aren't necessary. As for Scar, I guess I just wanted to be sure, but why was I so concerned? A sudden thought occurred to me.

"Why did _you _save _me_?" I asked him. "I could have handled the thugs, and I didn't need your help carrying that chest." I almost thought Scar would just ignore me again, because it took him several minutes to respond. But then he said, "Are you ungrateful?"

"No, no!" I responded, "It's just… you got hurt because you came to help me, and… I can't stand it when people get hurt because of me." Scar's response was immediate for once, "If I hadn't acted you would have died."

After he said that, I remembered he had said something about the thug with the knife nearly stabbing me. "I knew he was there, I was just…" I started. I wanted to make up some reason why I hadn't turned sooner, or at least started to dodge. But the look on Scar's face told me he knew I'd lie. "Don't act stronger than you are. You'll only hurt yourself and others," he told me.

I wasn't sure how to respond. I could have said something smart-assed, but I couldn't think of anything. The silence probably would have gone on until the sun rose, but Yoki interrupted it. "Are we just going to sit here?" he asked. Something about the way he said that irritated me, so I said, "Get him, Lieu." Promptly, my energetic cat jumped up and started attacking Yoki once again. This was getting far too redundant, so when Scar said we should head out I was grateful.

(Author's Note: I was looking at the FMA wiki and I noticed most of the characters had theme songs, so I thought Alison should have one too. I was thinking "Wasteland" by 10 Years. I completely fell in love with this song around the same tome I first came up with Alison too ^^)


	9. Murder

As soon as the sun had risen over the horizon, we started to head for Central. It was only around noon when we arrived, so the streets were extremely busy. I was worried someone would recognize Scar, or that the Fuehrer had sent word about me attacking him. I expressed my concerns about us getting spotted, but Scar dismissed them by showing me how he managed to stay hidden in East City.

All three of us _found_ hooded beggar's cloaks and used those to hide our faces. This worked surprisingly well. Most people assumed we had the hoods up for a reason and decided prying would be dangerous. We were able to pass through the city without any problems. Lieu liked the cloaks, too. He could sit on my head or shoulders without anyone noticing him. Plus, he liked to snuggle in between soft fabrics. So between the cloak and my t-shirt he must have thought he was in heaven.

Scar obviously had his own agenda, but I didn't know this city well, so I had no idea where I could find Mustang. As a result, I spent the wandering around with Scar and Yoki, who was clearly only following us because he was too afraid to be on his own. I heard many rumors about Mustang. People wondered how someone so young had made it so far up the chain of command, and they wanted to know why he had been transferred to Central where it would only be easier for him to advance. These rumors didn't interest me too much, though, because I expected them. Unfortunately, I didn't hear any rumors that did interest me that day.

Soon night fell and I found an abandoned alleyway where we could spend the night. Yoki complained, but Scar didn't seem to mind. Lieu liked it too, because mice ran through the alley and I told him to chase them down. Despite the fact that he was only slightly bigger then the rodents, Lieu seized most of them soon after I set him loose. At least that's one thing we would have to worry about. The sun had set behind the buildings of the city now, and I could feel myself dozing off. I closed my eyes and allowed sleep to overcome me.

I awoke in the middle of the night when the moon was directly over my head. Lieu was asleep beside me and no mice remained in the alley. Yoki was also asleep, and he was snoring rather loudly. But Scar was nowhere to be seen. I yawned, but I didn't feel like going back to sleep, so I decided I'd go and find him. Something told me it wasn't a good idea to sit back while a revenge-crazed, powerful man was roaming around in a city full of the ones responsible for his vengeance.

I remembered hearing people talking about the Silver Alchemist, Giolio Comanche, being in town. I remembered him being overjoyed when the order for the State Alchemist to mobilize during the civil war. I've never liked him. Judging from his aggressive past, I assumed Scar would head after him. I asked the few people who were still on the streets at this hour if they had seen the Silver Alchemist, and it didn't take me long to find him.

He was walking alone down a sparsely lit street. He must have thought he was safe alone; after all, he was one of the strongest State Alchemists. As soon as I spotted him, I ran in between two nearby buildings and climbed a ladder to the top. All the strain in my arm caused it to throb, but I was easily able to ignore it. Now that I had a bird's eye view, it saw Scar standing in Comanche's path.

"Giolio Comanche," Scar called. The alchemist lifted his head and demanded to know who was accosting him. The hood Scar had been wearing flew back and his dark skin, red eyes, and X shaped scar were revealed. Comanche sucked in his breath and remarked that he was lucky to find a convicted murderer so late at night.

Comanche was wearing a pair of gloves that he removed to reveal his palms were tattooed with alchemical circles, as well as his fingertips, and the rest of his fingers were covered in alchemical texts. The Silver Alchemist arrogantly stated that Scar had no chance of defeating him, because Scar could only destroy while Comanche could also create.

Although Comanche had obviously suffered a serious wound and now needed a peg leg, he could move easily and was almost as fast as Scar. Almost. The Silver Alchemist weapon of choice was a silver sword. He also created a number of chains and shurikan, which he used in ranged attacks against Scar. Though his attacks were fast, the Ishvalan was able to dodge most of them.

During the fight, Comanche rattled off racial slurs and other insults. I was so tempted to go down and kick his ass myself, but Scar would probably only get angry if I tried. Instead, I watched the Silver Alchemist launch into a series of spinning attacks. He rushed towards Scar and slashed out in every direction. Scar matched him head on.

Between the growing wind, Comanche's spin, and Scar's attack a cloud of dust was kicked up. When it cleared Scar was kneeling with a small cut on his leg, but the Silver Alchemist appeared unharmed, which he remarked on. "You can't even hit me!" he gloated. But then, much to his surprise, Comanche's wooden leg, which he'd been standing on, burst into splinters and he lost his balance. He fell of the bridge we were on and fell into the water below. Scar jumped in after him. I waited patiently for something to happen. Slowly, a cloud of blood formed around the floating top hat that Comanche was wearing.

A few seconds later, Scar surfaced and climbed back onto the road. After it was clear Comanche was dead, I hopped down of the building I was sitting on. Scar didn't seem surprised to see me. "Damn… I'm happy I'm not a State Alchemist anymore," was the first thing I said. The first thing Scar said was, "Why are you here?"

"Is that all you ever say?" I countered. Before he could answer I shook my head, shrugged, and continued, "I woke up and you weren't there, so I thought it would be a good idea to find you." Scar didn't respond, as usual, so after a few moments I added, "You know, something just occurred to me. Excluding the Fullmetal and Flame Alchemist, and me, you've only gone after State Alchemists that enjoy fighting. That guy," I pointed towards the growing cloud of blood, "was no exception."

"Is that while you didn't interfere?" Scar asked. I thought about it for a moment then replied, "He killed dozens of people because he thought it was fun. He didn't deserve my help. Now c'mon, let's get back before Lieu murders Yoki."

"Wait," Scar said, "Do you approve of this?" I had turned around and started walking back towards out alley, but when Scar said that, I turned so he could see my confusion.

"Approve? That's an interesting word," I said to stall for a few moments. Scar must have been born with the amazing ability to ask question I have no idea how to answer. "I…don't. Not exactly," I tried to explain, "I know why you're doing this, and I do think some people deserve this, but I'm still against killing. I won't try to stop you, but I won't help you either."

My answer seemed to please Scar, or he was at least expecting it, because he didn't question my further. He just started to walk past me towards out alley. I followed him, and then I remembered he had been wounded. "You cut your leg!" I called after him.

""It'll heal," was his response. I ran to catch up with him and replied, "At least let me stop the bleeding." He sighed and allowed me to bind his wound. "I thought you weren't going to help me," Scar said. He voice was flat, he never showed any emotion other than anger, but he still sounded like he was mocking me.

"This won't hurt…" I started. Scar stood by me for a moment, but then he started to walk away, "Wait!" I called, "Were you making fun of me! Hey, wait!" I ran to catch up with Scar. I almost thought I heard him chuckle, but that must have been the wind or something. Scar doesn't have a sense of humor, does he?

I had to run most of the way back because Scar was walking so fast. When we got back, Scar immediately fell asleep. Yoki and Lieu were still sleeping too, so I decided to try and get more a little more rest. The next three days continued in the same way. We'd explore the city during the day, and then when Yoki fell asleep Scar would leave and I would follow. Lieu came with me on the first night but after that, he decided our trips weren't interesting enough for him to sacrifice his precious sleep.

Each night Scar would find a State Alchemist and confront him. Each Alchemist he found was one who had enjoyed the fighting in Ishval, so I didn't object. After each fight, I would tend to any wounds Scar obtained and check up on old ones. His arm and mine were healing perfectly, I'm happy to say.

On the fourth night, after Scar's fight, we heard sirens and screams. For a moment, I thought Yoki might have had something to do with it, but then I saw an explosion. I was of the roof of a tall building so I could see most of the city. The explosion was far away, but because of its size, it was easy to spot.

I pointed it out to Scar and we both ran towards it. We both wanted to know what was happening. But before we could even get close, I crowd of people can running and told us to stay away. Both Scar and I got caught in the flow and were separated by its immense force.

I was able to break free of the crowd not long after. I ran down an alley and climb up a building. I was rather short, so I couldn't see nearly as far. And I couldn't see Scar. But I could see that the people were running from a man in a horrific suit of armor and a Xingese man that was following him closely. I figured they would probably know what happened so I decided to stop them.

I jumped off the roof and would have landed right on the armored man, but instead I twisted my body and kick his animal skull helmet off. It flew past the Xingese man and rolled down the street. Because of the way I twisted, I had landed backwards. When I turned around, I saw that there was no head under the helmet.

"You're like Al!" I cried. He was hollow, just like Alphonse. The armor started laughing at my surprise. "Surprised to see Barry the Chopper!" he cried. He pulled out a giant butcher's knife and charged at me.

"Barry? But weren't you…" I started. I remembered the name Barry the Chopper from a case a few years ago. He killed his wife and twenty-three other people before the military could catch him. But he was supposed to have been executed. I stated to ask, but then a simple answer occurred to me, "The military did this to you. Why kill you when they can use you, right?"

Barry looked shocked that I figured it out so fast, and he congratulated me. Then he said, "Wait, you know Al?"

"I should be asking you that!" I snapped. "But that's really not important right now. What's going on over there?" I asked and pointed to the area where the explosion had occurred. Barry became stubborn and refused to tell me anything. Meanwhile, the Xingese man behind him was urging Barry to hurry up and leave. He also told Barry repeatedly that it was "not alright" to kill me.

"Barry," I said in a soft voice, "you should tell me. I have friends in and out of the military who wouldn't hesitate to rip you apart." I made sure my voice sounded like I was consoling a child. Despite my gentle voice, Barry assumed I wasn't lying and he stated blurting out details about a jailbreak. He explained how Second Lieutenant Maria Ross had been accused of murdering Brigadier General Hughes.

"What…?" was all I could say to that. I knew Maria, she was a kind and caring girl. She held great respect for Hughes and would never even disobey him, much less murder him. There must have been a mistake. Anyone who knew Maria would know she's not capable of murdering someone.

Barry went on to explain that she had been arrested and was scheduled to be executed. Barry went into the jail to break her out. He didn't explain why, though. He just started to explain how he broke into the jail. Then he seemed to notice he was off track and pointed out the man behind him. "I picked this guy up along the way too," Barry explained. "He promised to help me if I helped him, that kinda thing."

"Well, anyway," Barry started. He began to explain that after the three of them, Barry, Maria, and Xing, had made it out of the jail they fled into the streets. They were separated not soon after. Maria went towards where the explosion had occurred. Before Barry completely lost sight of her, he was able to see Colonel Mustang confront Maria. Barry said he was about to turn back for Maria, but then the alley she was in exploded into a giant burst of flame.

"No!" I snapped. Barry took a step away from me in fear. "Roy wouldn't do that!" I cried. He wouldn't, he couldn't. Barry looked at me with confusion, but I just ignored him. Mustang might not have known Maria well, but he wouldn't just go and kill her like that. She may have been convicted of Hughes' murder, but Mustang must have known that was impossible. And besides, Hughes was only killed about two weeks ago. I couldn't believe anyone could find enough evidence to sentence Maria to death in that short amount of time. Something had to be wrong.

I needed time to think. I turned heel and ran from the alley. As I ran the only thing I could think was, _Roy wouldn't do that._ He hated to kill, and he would only do so if the situation required it. The Colonel I knew wouldn't go so far for such a bogus charge. Every day for two years after the fighting in Ishval, Mustang would tell me how lucky I was that I wasn't there. I trusted Mustang so much because he was the only State Alchemist I knew, other than Ed who I barely see and Armstrong ruins everyone's day just by showing up, who didn't want to use his license to hurt others. He only wanted it so he could gain standing in the military. That's the Mustang I know. He wouldn't just go and kill and obviously innocent person.

I felt betrayed.

As I ran tears came to my eyes and clouded my vision. I didn't even notice Scar standing in front of me, and I ran right into him. "Alison?" Scar asked. He put his hands on my shoulders and he looked down at me as I looked up at him. "Scar…" I muttered, "I don't know what to do." He looked confused now, so I explained what had happened. And just like after I learned of Hughes' death, Scar didn't interrupt or tell me to stop. He just listened.

"I thought," I said when several moments had passed after I was done explaining what happened, "I thought Roy was my friend. But…if he really did this to Maria, I don't know if I can even trust him… I don't know what to do," I finished in a whisper.

"Search for answers, but only if you want to know the truth," Scar told me.

"I don't know if I'm brave enough to find the truth," I said still whispering.

"Only cowards hide their fears," Scar replied. I looked away from Scar and thought about what he said. His hands were still on my shoulders, but I didn't what him to move. For some reason, I almost felt comforted by him. What he said comforted me too.

"Scar, can I…follow you for a little while longer?" I asked. I turned my head up to look at him again. He didn't say anything, but he did nod. "Thank you," I muttered. He turned, then, and began to walk back to the alley. I followed closely behind.


	10. Hospital

"Where have you two been?" Yoki asked when we got back. By now, the sun was rising and most people in the city would be eating breakfast. We were probably going to skip breakfast again, because we had a bigger concern. Behind Yoki sat a small girl, maybe only eleven or twelve at most and held black and white cat closely. The girl didn't look lost; actually, she didn't even look like she came from this country. She looked like she came from Xing. Her appearance was enough to give it away, but she also gave all of us suffixes. She called Yoki "sama", and Scar and me "san". She introduced herself as May Chang and the cat as Xiao Mei. She explained how she had indeed come from Xing and was looking for the secret of immortality so she could raise her family's standing.

May also said that she was in the alley because she had collapsed out of hunger and Yoki had found her. She seemed to be under the impression Yoki was our, Scar's and my, master. Scar told her she didn't need to thank Yoki, and he began to tell her she should leave, but Lieu bumped into his leg and he saw the adorable seen of Xiao Mei and Lieu playing together. Scar didn't finish his statement. Did he have a sense of humor and a soft spot for cute animals? I wanted to ask him, but I was pretty sure he'd be angry, and the last thing I wanted to do was make Scar angry.

I was worried May might though. A gust of wind blew through the alley and the cloak Scar was wearing lifted just enough for the child to see the tattoos on his arm. She immediately looked intrigued, but before Scar had a chance to notice I announced that I wanted to ask her something that was "girls only". I pulled her out of Scar's range of hearing.

When I stopped, she asked me what was wrong. "Don't say anything about those tattoos," I explained, "He was given them by his brother who…died, ten years ago. But I knew his brother too, so if you want to know anything about them please ask me."

"But Alison-san looks upset, too," May said.

"I knew his brother well. But Scar is the kind of person who would get angry, not upset." May seemed to understand, because she changed to subject and asked about the tattoos. She wanted to know if they had anything to do with her country's Alkahestry. I explained how Daein's interest in Alchemy came from some journals he bought from a traveler from Xing. Most of Daein's work was based of those journals.

"But what about this county's Alchemy? Does Scar-san know anything about it?" May asked. I answered, "No, Scar never cared for Alchemy or Alkahestry. I am…used to be a State Alchemist. I might be able to help you, but I don't know anything about immortality." May looked disappointed, but then se perked up. She asked me if I knew the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"I've known him for years," I told the girl, "I was good friends with his friend's parents." She became overjoyed and asked if I could take her to meet them. I reluctantly told her I how and why I was avoiding anyone from the military for now. Her joy dwindled, but it didn't completely diminish. She said good friends have a way of finding each other and seemed to cling to the idea that we would meet soon.

When we walked back to Scar and Yoki I announced May would be traveling with us for a while. Scar didn't object, actually he looked like all he could focus on was Xiao Mei, but when Yoki started to both Lieu and Xiao Mei attacked him. Lieu attacking Yoki was still redundant, but with Xiao Mei helping I couldn't stop myself from laughing.

Needless to say, Yoki gave in. Looking at the alley, though, I noticed the only form of shelter we had was a small lean-to that Yoki insisted on having. I wanted May to have a better place to sleep at night, and I remembered something someone told me earlier. A few days ago my boyfriend had moved to Central. I was told where he lived now and everything. I know the last thing we did was fight, but I clung to the idea that he would help me now.

I voiced my thoughts and added that his house wasn't far away. May and I left while Yoki and Scar stayed behind.

Scar waited in the alley for Alison to return. Yoki was blabbering about something, but Scar ignored him. He was tired and wanted to rest until Alison and May got back. However, now that Lieu and the strange (adorable) cat, Xiao Mei, were gone, Scar realized he wasn't sure why he didn't object to Alison's announcement that May was staying.

When he thought about it, Scar wasn't sure why he allowed anyone to follow him. Yoki was utterly useless. He complained about everything and never stopped talking. Yoki should consider himself lucky Scar hasn't killed him out of frustration yet. Scar also doubted whether May Chang would be worth keeping. She was just a child and Yoki had found her half starved after all.

Alison hasn't been too useful yet either. She did have knowledge of treating injuries, but since Yoki nearly ran her over the only wound that posed a problem was entirely Alison's fault to begin with. If she had been paying more attention, Scar wouldn't have needed to interfere and never would have been injured.

Then again, Scar knew Alison could fight. She hated to, but if her life was in danger she wouldn't hesitate to defend herself. Based on her personality, Scar thought Alison would fight for him as well if the situation called for it. _Maybe she does have some used after all, _Scar thought.

Scar mulled over these thoughts until he saw May and Alison return. May looked upset and confused, but Scar was more focused on Alison. She was furious. Her face was red and twisted in a mask of anger and her arms were folded across her chest. She began to rant about how she was wanted for "Causing bodily harm to the Fuehrer". She went on to say that her boyfriend tried to lure her into a trap so he could hand her over to the military. She was enraged because they had been dating for over a year, but when she needed him he stabbed her in the back.

"I thought Alison-san was going to kill him. When she left she slammed the door so hard it shattered!" May explained. Still fuming, Alison sat against the wall of the alley and glared at the other wall. Not long after, her eyes drooped and she fell asleep.

The next few days passed without event. Scar traveled throughout the city, but the only alchemist he heard word of was Colonel Mustang. The Colonel must have heard about Scar by now though, and he would have plenty of guards and personnel around him. Scar couldn't use Alison to get close to him either, because of the warrant for her arrest. But, Scar didn't know if he would have gone after Mustang anyway. Although Alison was upset about what she had heard about Maria Ross, Scar thought she'd still be hurt if anything happened to him. She obviously held great respect for him before she heard, and she probably still did. Scar thought she was the kind of person who would try and find anyway to prove Barry the Chopper wrong.

So, Scar spent the next week doing absolutely nothing. Alison, on the other hand, was quite busy. Unlike before, she didn't simply follow Scar around. More often than not, she would walk around with May and explore the city. May wanted to find the Fullmetal Alchemist, and Alison wanted to learn more about what happened the other night.

Instead of just listening in on conversations, I began to ask people about Mustang. I was careful, though. I knew I was wanted, and I knew my strange eye and hair color would give me away immediately. After a bit of experimenting, I found I could use alchemy to create the illusion that I had brown hair and brown eyes. I also changed my facial structure a bit. My face was uncharacteristically childish. May thought this was amazing, but Yoki insisted I still clearly looked like myself. Scar only nodded. I knew he didn't care for alchemy, so I've been reluctant to use it, but I couldn't think of any other way to stay hidden.

With my altered appearance, I had no trouble asking around. An elderly woman selling flowers told me Mustang had been in an accident recently and was in a local hospital. I asked if she knew if it was related to an event that occurred one week ago. The woman explained that the event, a jailbreak, actually was a completely separate occurrence. I thanked her and she pointed me to the hospital.

I knew getting into the hospital would be hard, but I didn't expect the entire building to be filled with military personal. Even if I wasn't recognizable, some random girl won't be able to see an injured Colonel without a good reason, which I didn't have.

But I had an idea. My appearance changing illusion was working perfectly. I decided to try something a little bigger and bend light so it completely erased an object from sight. If I could bend light to alter colors, then I should be able to bend light into a picture of whatever is behind me. For example, if I were standing in front of a brick wall, then I'd need to create a cloud of mist and use the droplets as mirrors. I tried it out with Lieu and it worked perfectly.

Thankfully, the walls inside the hospital were white and bare. I still had to concentrate, but I didn't have to worry as much about getting the patterns wrong. I must have been doing a fine job, because I made my way through the hospital without drawing attention to myself.

It was easy enough to find Mustang's room. Half the staff was talking bout him after all. Apparently, First Lieutenant Hawkeye found him and Second Lieutenant Havoc severally wounded. The story is that they were chasing an escaped convict. The convict seemed to have gotten away, though, because guards were stationed outside the room Mustang and Havoc shared. This whole situation seemed unbelievable to me, though.

Havoc might not have had sufficient field experience, but he was no idiot. And Mustang did have experience. Also, if Hawkeye found them, then she must have been nearby as well. Her aim is legendary. Whoever did this wasn't simply an escaped convict.

When I made it to Mustang's room, two burly guards were standing outside. I knew I needed to get around them, but I didn't know how. I could create a distraction, but that would only cause the officers in the hospital to raise their guards. Everyone would be looking for me, so I wouldn't even be able to move.

But then another thought occurred to me. These guards wouldn't be here all day. They were human, so they would need to eat or rest eventually. And not soon after I thought this, both were called on break. The guard inside the room also left. When he left, I saw Hawkeye round a corner and walk towards the room. While the door was open and waiting for her, I ran inside.

I stood against the wall across from Mustang's bed. Havoc was asleep, but Mustang was wide-awake. He wasn't looked at the wall, though, so I assumed my illusion was still flawless. Hawkeye, however, pulled out her gun as soon as she stepped in the room.

She didn't point it at me; she just scanned around the room. Mustang asked her what she was doing, and his voice woke Havoc. He sat up in his bed, and the sudden movement caught my eye. For only a moment, my concentration wavered, and so did my illusion.

The waver should only have appeared as a slight shimmer, but the infallible Hawkeye caught it. She pointed her gun at me, and looked about to pull the trigger. I quickly checked the windows and door, and seeing that they were both closed, I shattered the illusion.

Hawkeye's eyes flared, but before she could move I said, "Don't shoot! It's me." I held my hands up in front of me as the last wisps of mist dissipated. "I learned a new trick," I said and tried to smile. Hawkeye's still focused gun and my own mixed feelings made it hard to sell it though.

Mustang told Hawkeye to lower her gun. Hawkeye objected, but Mustang asked her if anyone else could pull off that alchemy. She subsided, so then he asked me, "What have you been doing? And where have you been?"

"Well, after _you_ sent me on the wrong train," I started. I placed extra emphasis on the 'you' and glared at Mustang. "I ended up in Dublith. And I got a little…mixed up." I gave a short explanation of the Devil's Nest, and about how why I attacked the Fuehrer. Then I just told him I came to Central alone. He didn't need to know more; I was already in enough trouble.

"Ah, before I go on," I said, "Can I ask what happened to Maria Ross?" Mustang looked surprised that I knew about her, but then he just sighed.

"Is that why you came here?" he asked. When I nodded he continued, "I can't tell you know, for obvious reasons. Speak to Hawkeye later. But first tell me, are you still loyal to the military?"

I thought about it for a moment, then said, "No. I gave up my title as a State Alchemist when I fought Bradley. Without that, I have no reason to remain."

"Are you still loyal to me?" Mustang asked next. Thinking about Maria, I told him, "Ross was my friend. Can I trust you?" I already suspected Mustang was up to something. He told me to 'ask Hawkeye later'. As I've said before, Havoc is no idiot. But he's not a genius either. Mustang and Hawkeye know something that they don't want him to know, probably because he's the most likely out of Mustang's entire team to leak it. And Mustang's plan was working. I knew what he meant, but Havoc looked confused.

"Yes," Mustang answered. I looked directly into his eyes, and they were not the eyes of a murderer. He didn't kill Maria. No, it's far more likely that he actually helped her. But if he helped her, then that means the military is definitely corrupted.

"If I can trust you, then yes, I am still loyal to you," I told him.

Mustang's entire face lit up and his smile stretched ear to ear. "You've just become an invaluable asset!" he said. "I've been needing a reliable player who can move _outside _of the military." Mustang's smile was contagious, because I felt my face light up a bit.

Mustang went into a lengthy explanation that detailed what he'd discovered since Hughes' death. Something was going very wrong within the military. His voice grew quiet as he explained what a Homunculus, an artificially created human, was. He said the enemy, whoever they were, created at least four of them. They were Lust, Gluttony, Greed, and Envy. He knew very little about the Homunculi, but he knew their appearances and some of their abilities. Envy could change his appearance, Greed appeared to be able to turn his skin into a powerful shield, and Gluttony just appeared to eat everything. I asked about Lust, and Mustang smiled, but then his eyes grew dark.

"I killed Lust, but not before both Havoc and I were injured," Mustang said. "But that proved they can be killed. Fullmetal fought Greed, but the only thing we learned from that was that Homunculi have amazing regenerative abilities. This was also proved by the number of times Gluttony has been shot by numerous officers. But if they are 'killed' repeatedly, they will die."

"So one down, six to go right?" I said. In answer to Mustang's confused look I continued, "'Lust', 'Greed', 'Gluttony', and 'Envy' are four of the seven deadly sins. I highly doubt that's a coincidence. I'll bet 'Sloth', 'Wrath', and 'Pride' are out there somewhere."

Mustang nodded, but Havoc wasn't convinced. He was ignored though, and Mustang said, "Then that's what I need you to do. Find the last three. And any others, if there are others." I nodded and saluted. "Yes sir!" I said, almost comically. Mustang and Havoc smiled while Hawkeye let out a small chuckle.

"Oh, wait!" I started, "How long will you two be in here?" I asked. Mustang's face melted into a mask of anger, and I was afraid I had offended him. But I didn't know why. This time, Havoc spoke. He told me Mustang was supposed to stay for a few weeks, but he'd probably leave earlier. But Havoc had much more severe injuries. He explained how both of them had gotten the wounds, then finished by saying, "And I still can't feel my legs."

"Jean…" I murmured sympathetically. He laughed, but he sounded like he could cry. "What will do know?" I asked him. He told me his parents owned a small shop out west he could work in, but he didn't think he could return to service.

Mustang grew angry because of his statement, but Hawkeye and Havoc managed to convince him this was best. Havoc apologized to me, and I could feel a tear come to my eyes.

But I steeled myself and pushed back that tear. I needed Mustang to think I was as confident and strong willed as I always am, so I said, "Jean, I'll find a way to fix this. There has to be an answer some where, so until I find it you better not leave the Colonel's side." Havoc smiled at me, and so did Mustang. Havoc laughed and told me, "This world really needs more people like you."

"Now, Hawkeye, I need you to escort Citrona out of this hospital. Act like you're arresting her, and then when you're outside, explain the rest," Mustang said. Hawkeye saluted, but I told them to wait. I did my appearance trick and changed my hair and eye colors. Mustang seemed impressed, because he said, "How skilled are you with that, what can you do?"

After a moment's thought, I explained I could probably do almost anything. This was much simpler than invisibility, and I didn't have to focus as much. I demonstrated a few forms, more to see if I could do it than to impress Mustang. I created the illusion that I was Hawkeye then Havoc. I also created an illusion of Mustang walking around the room. That was very difficult; I had to concentrate harder then when I was doing my invisibility.

"But it's really not all that practical. I have to focus, and if I'm fighting or have to listen for followers I wouldn't be able to maintain the illusion," I explained. Colonel Mustang was still impressed, however. He asked me hid my appearance so Hawkeye could escort me from the hospital with the story I was lost and climbed in through the window. The tale was shaky, but it worked.

Once we were a few yards away from the hospital, Hawkeye stopped leading me and I broke my concentration. My brown hair and eyes shimmered into silver and blue-purple. Hawkeye looked amazed, but then she focused and began to explain what had happened to Maria Ross.

She said Mustang knew Maria was innocent. And he knew her sentence was a cover-up. Whoever killed Hughes didn't want to be found, so he blamed Maria for it. Mustang decided he cold take advantage of sneaking her out of the country. In the process, he could find information about the enemy.

Hawkeye finished by telling me Maria was alive and healthy in Xing. Ed had gone to see her and he said she was taking this whole situation well enough. I was happy that Maria was all right, and that I was right about Mustang. But the news about Havoc still troubled me. I felt like every time I heard good news, someone had to be there to give me more troubling news.

"Don't worry," Hawkeye told me, "he'll be in the hospital for a while, and he and the Colonel are both looking for a way to cure him. He won't leave." I smiled and thanked Hawkeye. She smiled back and told me to come back soon. I waved goodbye and left to find Scar and the others. The sun had begun to set and I knew May would be upset that I was gone for so long. I imagined Scar getting angry, and I ran home. On the way, Lieu ran towards me out of the alcove he had been hiding in. He ran close to my feet all the way back.


	11. Snake!

When I got back to the alley, May screamed by name and jumped into my arms. So told me I was gone for far too long, and that she thought I had been kidnapped. I laughed and told her I was all right. Lieu jumped down and started playing with Xiao Mei. This seemed to please May, because she started laughing and forgot about her worry.

While May watched the two cats play, Scar asked me what happened. "I became one of the Colonel's greatest assets, and learned a dear friend of mine has been seriously injured." For a second confusion crossed Scar's face, but that second was so short I almost thought I imagined it. Did he want to know? I thought he wouldn't care what I did. He didn't say anything though, there was just that look in his eyes. Or had I just imagined that?

Regardless, Yoki did care. He badgered me for an hour, but I tried my hardest to ignore him. He wanted to know what I meant by 'greatest assets'. I had no doubt he only wanted to try and get involved so he could earn some of his power back. But he doesn't deserve that power, so Xiao Mei and Lieu took out some boredom on him.

But once Yoki started to calm down, Scar's opinion seemed to change. He wanted to know what I'd do next. I laughed and said to him, "What? Are you afraid I'll leave?" I tried to keep my voice light and sarcastic so Scar couldn't hear how upset I was about Havoc, but he didn't look convinced. I stopped smiling and continued, "Well anyway, I'm gonna stick around for a little while longer. It'll be more advantageous for all of us."

Scar didn't object, he didn't say anything. He only nodded, but that was what I expected him to do. For the rest of the night, I sat talking to May. She told me all about Xing, and I told her about Amestris. After a particularly vivid story, she suddenly told me she missed her mother.

"When I was younger, my mother would play with me all the time. She taught me to read and all about Alkahestry. But a few months ago, she started to cling to the royals. I was told she only wanted to see my father, the king, more often, but I knew that wasn't true. She knew our family was dying fast, and before she lost everything she wanted to enjoy a few more months of glory. I didn't even see her for three weeks, then I left," May explained to me. As she spoke, her voice grew soft and quiet, and a tear gleamed in her eye. I could feel my heart breaking under the weight of her words. A tear formed in my own eye, and I gathered the child in my arms.

"Oh, May, you've been through far to much for someone so young," I told her.

"Don't cry, Alison-san, please don't cry," May said to me. Despite the tears in her eyes, she smiled at me. "I didn't want to make you upset. I felt so alone. I just wanted to talk to someone. I'm sorry I made you cry. I just… I miss my mother." Tears began to pour down May's cheeks. I held her closer to me and gently patted her head.

"It's alright, May. I can't replace your mother, but I won't leave you. I promise." I made sure my voice was as soft and soothing as I could make it. May didn't say anything, she just nodded her head. I heard her mumble, "thank you," and "I'm sorry," several times. After a few minutes, her crying stopped and her breathing slowed. She'd fallen asleep. I leaned back against the wall of the buildings surround us and soon followed her. ***

Scar was again the last to fall asleep. Yoki had fallen asleep long before any of the others. He was snoring loudly and mumbling incoherently to himself. Once again, Scar was reminded that he forgot why he allowed Yoki to accompany him. He randomly considered every group needed comic relief, maybe that was why he kept Yoki around.

Yoki didn't interest Scar much, though. Even before the small man had fallen asleep, Scar had focused on Alison and May. He couldn't hear their conversation, but it was obvious something had upset May greatly, and Alison was trying to calm her down. It occurred to Scar that the way Alison dealt with May was extremely maternal. It was almost as if they were mother and daughter. If Scar remembered correctly, Alison didn't have kids and she was in her late twenties. Considering how beautiful she was—

Scar couldn't finish the thought. Had he really just thought that? And about _Alison? _ She was an alchemist. And she used to be a State Alchemist, the same as the ones who were responsible for destroying everything he cared about. She was the reason his older brother turned from their god Ishvala and practiced that retched alchemy. And yet he couldn't deny that he found her beautiful. He enjoyed the way the shining sun created a halo in her silver hair. And he enjoyed the way her blue-violet eyes sparkled when she smiled.

Scar shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking about anything like that right now. Instead, he should be thinking about tomorrow. He still hadn't heard about the arrival of State Alchemists, but he didn't want to spend another day doing nothing. He hoped whatever Alison had spent the day doing would carry over and offer something for him tomorrow.

When morning came, Alison did indeed have something she wanted Scar to help her with. She asked if she him and May if they could help her look into something. Alison explained about Homunculi and how Colonel Mustang asked her to learn as much as she could about them. She asked Scar to go to a small underground market that might have books about it, and she asked May to tag along.

Scar but found a few texts Alison wanted, but he couldn't find anything worthwhile. May couldn't really find anything either. After three days, Alison's hopes where down and she thought she might murder Yoki soon. On the fourth day, Alison was told about a man who might be able to help her.

"His name is Dr. Faust. He's researched all sorts of these things," an old woman told Alison. The woman told her Dr. Faust could be found just outside of the city, but he lived in a deep valley that was hard to reach. Most considered him an outcast, and he had been exiled for practicing human transmutation. Alison grew more and more excited with everything she said and begged the woman to take her to the man. Obvious confusion made the woman confused, but she agreed. Since it was still early in the day, she offered to take the group that same day. Alison was overjoyed.

By noon they were out of the city. They followed a path that began to tilt down sharply. As usual, Yoki was complaining, but everyone was paying to much attention on not falling to bother with him. After about two hours of that, the path leveled out. By now the sun was still fairly high, but high cliffs rose and hid it, plunging the valley into evening light.

"How much farther is it?" Yoki whined. The old woman told him it wasn't much farther at exactly the same time as a tired and irritable Alison told him to shut to hell up. Having to carry two cats and a little girl for the last mile had been bad enough, and it was obvious Alison didn't want to deal with Yoki as well.

Scar wasn't feeling nearly as tired as Alison or Yoki, and he would have offered to carry May, but Alison showed no signs of giving up any time soon. Scar knew if he asked, she'd only get mad and insist she wasn't even feeling fatigued yet. Even so, when the old woman said they should stop for the night, Alison didn't hide the relief from her face.

As soon as they stopped the old woman built a fire. Alison laid May down near it and the girl didn't even stir. Before the fire was built, Yoki had also fallen asleep. Soon Scar and Alison were the only ones awake. They sat on opposite sides of the fire and just stared into it. After a few minutes, it became apparent Alison wasn't going to rest anytime soon, despite how exhausted she had seemed earlier. "You're not tired?" Scar asked her.

Alison laughed and replied, "It's funny. I was, but now that we've stopped I feel fully awake." Silence returned to the valley for a few more minutes, but then Alison asked, "Hey, why did you come with? This doesn't really have anything to do with you."

"That woman…sets me on edge. I can't explain it and it makes me curious," Scar answered. This obviously pleased Alison, and then she responded, "Oh good! I was beginning to think I was crazy. Lieu doesn't like her, but no one else seemed to mind." With this said, both adults kept a close watch on the sleeping woman. At least until Alison finally fell asleep. Soon after, a wave of weariness overcame Scar and he too drifted into slumber.

He awoke a short time later to the sound of Alison's scream. His eyes immediately opened and he saw the woman had turned into a hideous form of a snake. _A chimera?_ Scar thought. Though he wasn't too concerned with what she was, because the snake's tail was curled around May.

She looked conscious, but she also looked like she was in a great deal of pain. If Scar looked close enough, he could see muscles bulging in the snake's tail. May was being constricted.

Lieu and Xiao Mei were trying desperately to free the girl, but the small animals were just flicked away by the old woman. Yoki was nowhere to be found. But that was probably for the better, he'd only get in Scar and Alison's way.

The two fighters didn't waste any time. Alison went for the top half of the snake, which retained the old woman's appearance, while Scar went for the tail. He pulled back his right arm and lunged forward. The snake's tail detached from the body as Scar's destruction alchemy ripped through the tail. The woman started to cry out, but before she could the air around her burst into flame as tiny pockets of oxygen exploded. Alison stood away and yelled for Scar to carry May away quickly. As soon as her friends were far enough, Alison amplified the explosions.

When the flames died and the dust began to settle, silence filled the valley. Everyone was certain the woman was at least unconscious, but then her head, now more snake-like then before, burst forth from the cloud. Large fangs protruded from the woman's mouth, and she lunged. Before anyone could react, poisoned fangs plunged into Scar. He gasped and fell to the ground as the woman pulled away. His eyes grew wide and distant, and his dark skin began to fade into a sickly grayish hue.

(Author's Note: I just spent the entire day editing this. I've never spent so much time on anything in my entire life. I'm very lazy. Oh yeah, I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but this *** means the point of view is switching between Alison and Scar. I might be switching a lot soon…or maybe not. I change my mind every five minutes. I rewrote the final paragraph of this chapter at least a dozen times XD )


	12. Dr Faust

I watched in horror as Scar fell to the ground unmoving. "Scar!" I screamed. I started to run to him, but the old woman hurried to block my path. I called out to May and the child ran to Scar instead of me. It nearly killed me not being able to help May, but if I left the snake-woman alone she'd only cause more damage.

I created dozens of pockets of high and low pressure throughout the valley. If the pockets touched, sparks of lightning would shoot out. But I didn't want the sparks to hit Scar, May, or our cats. I wasn't concerned with Yoki, though. If he was even still here, a quick zap would do him good.

Regardless, I needed a way to focus the lightning. Metal would work, but I had no idea where I could get some. I didn't have time to transmute the ground, I barely had enough time to continuously dodge the snake-woman. I was beginning to think my lighting idea wouldn't work, but then my foot landed on a loose stone and I tripped. The woman immediately took advantage of this opening.

I thought I was going to die, but then five kunai flew at the woman. In a flash of light, a large section of her lower body was blown away. The effect looked similar to Scar's destruction alchemy. When I looked back at the direction the kunai had come from, I saw May kneeling with her hands in a simple transmutation circle. Five more kunai stood at each point of a star within the circle.

_That's it!_ I thought. I called again to May and asked her to throw more kunai at the snake-woman. The woman looked confused for a moment, then turned and headed for May, who was still standing over Scar. "Oh no you don't" I hissed. I charged at the woman and planted a solid kick to her face. She turned back to me for only a moment, but it was plenty of time for May to thrown about two dozen kunai at her. Most of them landed on her back.

"Perfect!" I shouted to May. She smiled at me then turned back to Scar. He looked even paler then before, and his body was covered in blood. I turned my worry for him into anger towards the snake-woman. I focused on the air surrounding her, and just before she reached me hundreds of streaks of lightning crashed into her. She screamed, but then she fell to the ground. She didn't move, but I was positive she wasn't dead yet.

But she was at least unconscious. I didn't let my guard up as I ran to May and Scar. Yoki had decided to show up again now. I wanted to glare and blame him for Scar's injury, but I knew it wasn't his fault. Yoki wasn't a fighter, and if he had stayed any injuries we suffered would have been much worse. And besides, Yoki was actually helping. He was bent over Scar and helping May to stop the bleeding.

May looked up at me with tears in her eyes, "I can stop the bleeding, but Scar-san's been poisoned," she whimpered. She looked down, and then her eyes grew wide, "Alison-san, your hurt too!" she cried. I looked at saw long scratches covered my left arm. Now that I noticed them, I could feel a sharp pain.

"I'm fine," I told the girl. "Worry about him, not me." I kneeled to the ground so I could get a closer look at Scar's wounds. The punctures had already healed, and when I asked May she explained her country's Alkahestry was mainly used for medicinal purposes. Closing wounds was easy, but she couldn't regrow lost limbs or cure poison if she didn't know what kind it was. The woman obviously wasn't a natural snake, so her venom wouldn't be natural either.

May apologized again and again, but I tried to calm her down. It wasn't her fault, and there were still plenty of ways to help Scar. I told May to treat him like he had an illness and to treat each symptom separately. He had a high fever, his breathing was labored, and he looked like he was in pain. I explained that if we could deal with each of these symptoms, it was very likely his body would fight of the poison on it's own.

We worked using various medicines to treat Scar, but he didn't seem to be improving at all. I was beginning to lose hope, and when Yoki voiced his own concerns reality hit me and I almost gave up completely. A tear started to form in my eye, but then I looked at May and our cats. The girl was sobbing and both Lieu and Xiao Mei looked like they'd be crying if they could. Some instinct told me I needed to be strong for them, so I bit back my tears.

The snake woman suddenly stirred behind me. I twirled around to see her try to pick herself up. She was obviously still very weak. But she gave me an idea. It was desperate, but it was all I had left to hope for.

"Dr. Faust. If he's real, tell me now," I told the woman sharply. I grabbed her by the collar of the tattered shirt she wore and shook her. She glared at me and it appeared she wouldn't even answer. I glared back harder and concentrating on creating a large, black cloud behind me. I focused on making the cloud form into large, demonic wings. I pictured myself looking like something straight from hell.

I probably wasn't far off, because fear grew in the snake-woman's eyes and she quickly spat out a simple path through this valley. Her eyes were completely filled with terror, not a hint of a lie could be found. Which told me two things. One: Dr. Faust was real. And two: Since this woman proved to be our enemy, I could probably expect even more chimeras down the road. There was also the very high probability Dr. Faust was responsible for the chimeras, which meant he might be our enemy, but he'd definitely know who to treat the venom.

I thanked the woman then depleted the air around her head of oxygen just long enough for her to pass out. I didn't need her bothering me anymore, but I didn't want to kill her. Afterwards, I rushed back to the others. I checked Scar one more time. He looked just as bad as before. I knew I had a medicine that could put someone in a coma for a day or two, and I decided I should use it on him now. It would ease his pain, at least.

The medicine was liquid and was meant to be inhaled, which made it much easier to give Scar. I explained what I was doing to May and she agreed it was a good idea. As the medicine began to take effect, Scar's face softened and his body relaxed. It was working. Now that he was asleep I asked Yoki to carry him to Dr. Faust's house.

"Why should I?" Yoki complained. I glared at him with enough fury to kill and told him, "May and I can fight. You can't. If you don't want to die get your ass moving." He whimpered but listened. While he was dealing with Scar, May stopped me and asked if she could heal my arm. I'd completely forgotten about it again, and told her to go ahead. In a matter of seconds my skin was patched together seamlessly. I was amazed at how easily she had fixed my arm, but May still insisted she wasn't all that powerful. Regardless, I was glad she was here.

Once Yoki was ready he, May, and the cats followed me through the valley. As I had predicted, we faced several more chimeras, but not a single one was as strong as the snake-woman had been. And even if they had been, I was venting all my concern for Scar into anger. I was probably more lethal then even him right now, and I didn't hide it from anyone. As we went along I created pockets of condensed fire and lightning. Whenever a chimera would get close they would be burnt and electrocute, and that was before May even got started. We were undefeatable now.

It didn't take us long to find a tiny, abandoned looking house. A small clumping of trees appeared suddenly in the barren valley, and just behind the trees was the house. Vines covered it, and most of the windows were broken. It was also missing a door, but if Dr. Faust was down here, he'd probably be in that house. Still on guard for more chimeras, I entered slowly.

"Dr. Faust?" I called. I heard a large crash followed by loud, fast footsteps. My guard was immediately raised.

"Oh, guests! I do so hope you haven't had too much tro-… Oh my," a small man said when he saw us. He was unexplainably happy, but when he saw Yoki carrying Scar his mood faltered. He looked genuinely concerned, but after all that's happened I didn't trust him in the slightest. But Lieu wasn't afraid of him. Lieu had been terrified of the snake-woman, and he's never been wrong about a person, so I had to trust this man.

"My friend has been poison by a snake chimera. You have to help him," I begged the midget.

"That must have been Valora! She's just to overprotective-" the man started, but I interrupted him. "I don't care about that! If you don't help him, he'll die!" I snapped.

"R-Right!" the man said, flustered. He continued, "Come this way, I have an anti-venom prepared just for these circumstances."

"Are you sure we can trust him?" May asked me. I nodded and told her Lieu did, so we had too. Besides, we had no other choice; Scar probably wouldn't survive the night without the anti-venom.

We followed the man into the house and he lead us into a large room filled with all sorts of plants and animals. The midget scurried over to a small desk covered in papers and filled with drawers. He pull opened one of the smaller drawers and pulled out a small bottle filled with an opaque yellowish liquid. From another drawer, he pulled out a syringe.

The syringe looked old and musty, so the man apologized and hurried to clean it out. "All right now, clean as a bee. What no, that's not right," he mumbled, "Never mind, that's irrelevant. You there, the one with the odd mustache, bring that man over to this bed." For a moment Yoki looked hurt because his mustache had been insulted, but he carried Scar over to the bed in the back of the room that the midget had pointed too.

Once Scar was in the bed, the midget filled the syringe and administered the anti-venom. Afterwards, the man checked Scar's vital signs and did some other, minor tests. "My now, this man certainly does like to sleep," the midget remarked.

"Ah, that's my fault," I explained, "I put him in a medically induced coma. I thought I could at least ease his pain a bit. Most people would take two days to wake, but he'll probably be up by tomorrow."

The midget smiled up at me, "And that was a darned smart thing to do. My Valora's venom packs a wallop. If this man was awake, why he'd probably be dead!" My face must have taken on a look of terrified concern, because the man immediately apologized for his remark and added, "But the coma will certainly save him! You got him here in more than enough time, Miss…um."

"Alison, my name's Alison. And thank you, Dr. Faust, right?" I responded.

The man looked up at me and smile, "Why yes, I am. Valora must have mentioned me. Oh my, she didn't say anything bad I hope. Oh, speaking of Valora, where is she?" Dr. Faust's smile faltered, "D-did, you k-kill her?" he stuttered. True concern shined in his face, and when I told him she was only sleeping, albeit being pretty seriously hurt, his face lit back up. He assured me Valora would be fine, though that really wasn't all too reassuring.

"Well, that's irrelevant. But you know," Faust started, "while we're on the subject of names, it would be a pleasure to know the rest of your friends', Miss Alison."

"Oh right," I mumbled. I told him Yoki's name, but before I could tell him May's she ran over to us and told Faust herself. She also introduced our cats. Then she bowed and thanked Dr. Faust.

"You are quite welcome, Miss May. Ah, but what about his fellow here?" the doctor asked, pointing to Scar.

"Um, we don't know his name. He never told us," I explained, "But a lot of people call him Scar, so we've just gone along with that."

"But wait, I thought you knew him from some long time ago or something like that?" Yoki accused me, "and he never told you his name?"

"No. Actually, I thought he hated me. He blamed me for his brother's interest in Alchemy. But, then again, I never really asked either. Names have always carried heavy meaning for him, and I guess I didn't want to offend him more than I already had."

Dr. Faust nodded like he understood, and didn't press that matter further. He looked around the room and his gaze landed on a small clock on a table in the middle of the room. "Oh goodness! Look at the time, and you kids must be exhausted. Alright, I have more beds around here somewhere," the doctor told us. He lead Yoki and May to a room in the back of the house, but I asked him if I could sleep in the main room.

"Don't trust me, do you?" he accused me, "Now, now don't worry. I understand. This man is important to you, and you want to protect him." I could feel my cheeks grow red as he talked, and I quickly said, "He's my friend…and it's really my fault he's hurt. Of course I'm going to want to protect him." Dr. Faust just nodded again. I helped him pull out a bed for me to sleep in, and then he headed back into another room.

Now that I was alone, I could finally take in everything that had happened tonight. In truth, I'd been in a state of shock for most of the night. After Scar first got bit, I thought he was dead. While we here rushing here, I was waiting for Yoki to say Scar's breathing had stopped. By the time we reached Dr. Faust's house, I was ready to cry in frustration.

But now, I could clear my head and concentrate. In the silence, I could hear Scar breathing. His breaths were shallow, but that was expected of someone in a deep sleep. I turned to look at him, and he looked like nothing was wrong. He wasn't sweating anymore, and he wasn't cringing either. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was only sleeping. And I wished so many times that he was.

For the rest of the night, I sat awake. The last time I fell asleep, we were attacked and Scar got hurt. I wasn't about to let my guard up now. I couldn't see the clock in the darkness, but I knew it couldn't be more than an hour or two until sunrise. Until then, I was going to keep watch. The room May and Yoki slept in was closer to me than the room Dr. Faust had entered. If anything left that room, I'd be there long before it could enter my friends' room.

But the first thing I saw was a dark shape leaving May's room. I tensed as it ran to me, but then I realized the shape was just Lieu. He jumped onto my bed and rubbed against my folded legs. He purred, but then he turned to Scar. The cat jumped the short distance between our beds and landed softly beside Scar's shoulder.

Lieu padded up to Scar's face and nudged his cheek. The kitten mewed softly, and then curled up into a ball. I smiled. _At least I'm not the only one worried about him_ I thought. For the rest of the night, I sat awake listening to Lieu and Scar breathing softly. When morning came, May was the first to wake.

(Author's Note: I don't know why it took me this long, but I just thought of the perfect theme song for Scar! "Animal I Have Become" by Three Days Grace. Oh, and my dumbass dog just got a cone of shame. I'm very amused. He's so stupid…

And yes I did name Dr. Faust after the German guy who sold his soul. But I've never actually read that story, so I have no idea who that Faust would act and I've been wanting to add in a midget for awhile now. I love midgets ^^)


	13. Midnight Crisis

The rest of the day passed quickly. Dr. Faust explained he was the one who had created the chimeras. But unlike Shou Tucker, Faust only used willing participants. People who were usually injured to the point of immobility, or people who just wanted to be stronger.

He also told me Valora was his most stunning achievement. And he apologized for the trouble she caused. Around noon, she and a few of the other chimeras May and I fought showed up. Yoki managed to disappear again as soon as he saw them, but May ran over to stand beside me, creating a wall between them and the still sleeping Scar.

Tension built to the point where everyone conscious in the room was ready to snap. May and I stood our ground. We tried to appear as strong and intimidating as we could, but honestly the two of us couldn't scare a puppy. On the other hand, Valora looked completely revived and completely pissed. Her eyes fell over me, then May, and finally rested on Scar. Her lips curled into a wicked grin and she said, "What's wrong with him? Still sore?"

Rage boiled my blood. "I'd be more worried about that tail of yours," I snapped back. Her eyes shined with fury. She, and the two chimeras that followed her, remained in a half-animal, half-human state. And although Valora looked recovered, I could still see grotesque scars on her tail. Actually, on closer inspection I noticed Valora had numerous burns as well. A hint of doubt showed in her eyes as she realized the wound she inflicted on my arm had completely healed.

But still, the chimera readied herself for a fight. The two beside her followed suit. Without diverting my gaze, I made a mental check of the room. It was small, so I could use most of the techniques I preferred. But even if the room was bigger, most of those techniques involve fire or heat, and I really didn't want to burn down someone's house.

In truth, I didn't want to fight at all. I knew Valora was injured, and if a fight did break out in such a small area, I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep her and the other chimeras away from Scar, despite there injuries. I began formulating strategies to protect him, but my heart wasn't in it. I didn't want to fight.

Thankfully, Dr. Faust came running in the room shouting, "Stop! Stop, please do not fight!" Valora's head snapped around to face the doctor, but my eyes remained steady. "Now that's enough," the doctor continued. He walked in between the us and held up his hands. "This man is injured, as a doctor I cannot allow a conflict so near to him."

Valora mumbled an apology, but I remained tense. It's true that I didn't want to fight, but Scar was defenseless and I wasn't about to let him be hurt further by my own incompetence. My attitude clearly made the Doctor uneasy though. "Now Miss Alison, Miss May, you two may relax. My Valora will not fight if I've told her not to," he assured us. But I wasn't convinced.

"Valora is responsible for nearly killing my friend. Do you really expect me to relax, Dr. Faust?" I told him. May gave a sharp nod to back me up. Faust sighed in resignation. "I suppose that is true. Come, Valora, I must see to those wounds," he said. Valora followed the doctor to the room he slept in last night. The other two chimeras followed. Once they left, collapsed onto Scar's bed.

My bed had been moved back into the second bedroom, so Scar's was the closest thing for me to sit on. "Alison-san, are you okay?" May asked me. I smiled at her and said I was just glad we didn't have to fight. "Me too," she whispered in response. She climbed onto the bed to sit next to me, and we stayed there for almost two hours. We didn't speak, so I took the time to think.

I still needed to find out what Dr. Faust knew about human transmutation. But I didn't think I could focus on anything until Scar woke up. With every passing minute, I grew more worried. The medicine I used should make a normal person sleep for about two days. But Scar was much stringer and much more stubborn that a normal person. He should have woken up hours ago. Unless the venom took more of a toll on him than I thought. Just how close had he come to dying? I shuddered at the thought. From now on, I'd listen to Lieu more and I'd have to me much stronger.

After two hours had passed, Dr. Faust returned from the room and told us Valora and the others left through a back door. Then he thanked me, "None of my chimeras were killed. I realized you must have felt enraged and desperate, but you didn't kill anyone, and for that we thank you." (Tosh.0 ^^)

"I…I can't kill someone, Doctor," I told him, my head hung in shame. I was part of the military for ten years, but I could never bring myself to kill anyone. I couldn't even carry a gun.

"Hmm, I thought so. Valora told me you are quite skilled with alchemy, but that's irrelevant. She also told me you know a lot about medicines and the like. Someone like you shouldn't hurt people," the doctor said soothingly.

"Thank you," I told him. His face turned flustered and he rambled, "Oh no, my dear! I was thanking you! You needn't thank me!" The doctor's face turned bright red when both May and I laughed at him. He quickly looked around the room, then his eyes landed on the clock. "My, my look at the time! You girls must be starving. I don't have much, but that's irrelevant. I'll make you ladies lunch." May and I laughed some more as he rushed to a small kitchen that was part of this main room.

He flung open cabinet after cabinet trying to find something decent for us. He ended up making a simple stew, but I _was _starving, so it tasted good anyway. After lunch he said he needed to go out shopping, but he told May and me we could stay for as long as we wanted. I thanked him again and he ran from the building. It vaguely remembered Valora saying something about him being exiled, so I wondered where exactly he was going shopping.

Yoki returned to the house shortly after the doctor had left, and I explained what happened. Yoki exclaimed his distrust of the doctor, but it was clear he wasn't going to do anything about it. He just sat around sulking and mumbling that he wanted to leave. I reminded him he could leave anytime, and he walked out of the house. Five minutes later, he was back. May laughed.

Just before sundown, Dr. Faust came back. He was pulling a wagon a child would use that was filled with food and clothes. He told us our own clothes looked terrible and that we should have better. He'd bought simple shirts and pants for Yoki and Scar, but he clearly paid more attention for May and me.

He bought traditional Xingese clothes, similar to what she wore now, for May. For me he bought a short-sleeved, black shirt a thin strip of dark blue butterflies and hearts ran across the front from the top left to the bottom right. Across the back was a large, purple and blue butterfly. He also bought me a new pair of cargo pants. Both the shirt and pants were immensely comfortable.

After I changed, I help Dr. Faust pull a bed into the main room again. I told the doctor I was worried that Scar hadn't woken up yet, and that I wanted to keep an eye on him. Faust thought this was knowledgeable. This night, Lieu crawled in bed with me as soon as the lights went out. I was sitting up again, and resigned myself to another long night awake. ***

In the dead of the night, Scar awoke. The moon could not reach down into the deep valley, and few starts shown overhead. As a result, only darkness surrounded the Ishvalan. For a moment, he thought he had gone blind. But before panic could overtake him, he told himself it was just night. And indeed, as soon as he thought this he heard a soft snore beside him. Though he couldn't see, he knew that snore belonged to Alison. As if to confirm this, he also heard a cat purr.

Despite the darkness, Scar's eyes soon adjusted somewhat and he could at least make out large shapes. He could see well enough to see Alison had fallen asleep sitting up. He puzzled on why she was sitting, but soon gave up. Looking around the room, he realized he couldn't remember how he'd gotten here. He tried to recall what had happened before falling asleep, but nothing came to mind. He decided to ask Alison as soon as she woke up. Which might not be for hours, considering how late it seemed. With a sigh, Scar laid back down and thought he'd try and fall back to sleep.

But his sigh and been just enough to wake up Alison. "Huh!" she gasped. Her head flew up as she realized she had fallen asleep. She looked around the room, but puzzlement crossed her face, "Was is this dark last night?" she mumbled. By now, Scar could see well enough to see her eyes widen when they fell on him. "Oh, when did you wake up?" she asked him, "Wait, never mind. Do you remember what happened? Do you hurt anywhere? How do you feel?" she rambled.

Scar almost smiled. Alison never changed. When she'd visit Daein in Ishval, after Scar woke up in that Ishvalan settlement, and even now she still became flustered whenever somebody got hurt. It comforted him to know there was at least one thing he could expect in this unpredictable and cruel world.

"I feel no pain," he told her, "But I cannot remember how I got here." Silence followed for several minutes as Alison thought of a way to explain the events that passed two days ago. With a sigh, she whispered, "You…were bitten by that snake chimera," and then, almost too softly to hear, "I thought you were going to die."

"I worried you," Scar responded. His voice wasn't questioning, but it wasn't emotionless either. Alison tried, but she couldn't make out exactly what emotion colored his voice. He didn't sound angry. Actually he almost sounded remorseful, like he felt guilty for making her worry. But Alison couldn't think of any reason why he'd care.

And neither could he. But he did care. Scar didn't want her to worry about him, he wanted her to be happy. And he wanted her to know it, but he didn't know how to explain feelings he himself didn't understand. So he remained silent, as he usually did. And Alison seemed to expect this.

"Of course you worried me!" she whispered. She almost sounded angry, but exhaustion and concern overshadowed the rage. Then in a much softer voice she added, "You're my friend."

If Alison could have seen Scar's face, she would have seen one of his far too few flashes of emotion. He was utterly surprised. She considered him, who had killed many of her colleagues, a _friend_? He didn't understand how she could be so forgiving. "You considered me a friend?" he asked her.

"I know you far too well not to," she responded in the same soft voice. After a few moments it was apparent Scar wasn't going to say anything else, so Alison asked, "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"I told you I feel fine," Scar responded, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"I'm only asking because I still feel off!" Alison snapped, but then she added, "May and Yoki seemed okay, but I've had a terrible headache ever since we woke up to Val-, the snake-woman's, attack. And besides that, while we were fighting, I couldn't concentrate. My mind almost felt…fuzzy. I can't explain it."

"We need to leave now. I have a bad feeling," Scar responded unexpectedly. Alison looked at him with wide, confused, but trusting eyes. She clearly didn't know what he meant, but she trusted him enough to follow him anyway. But he wasn't sure what was going on either. He had a sudden feeling that Alison was in danger, and he felt like he needed to protect her.

He began to rise from the bed, and as usual, Alison started to protest, but she was immediately hushed by the Ishvalan. She sighed in concern, but left him and went to wake May, Xiao Mei, and Yoki. Those three followed Scar from the house leaving Alison behind to pushed the drowsy May along. As soon the girl was out the door, it slammed shut, locking Alison inside.

(Author's Note: MUSICAL MARCH MADNESS! It's Nickelback vs. Rise Against… what the hell am I supposed to do?)


	14. Truth

(Author's Note: Longest chapter yet! Forget what I said two chapters ago, THIS is BY FAR the most edited chapter I have ever written. I completely trashed and rewrote it four times already. Please enjoy ^^)

As soon as he heard the door slam, Scar turned to face it. He saw May run from it, but he couldn't see Alison anywhere. His first instinct told him she was still in the building, and she wasn't there voluntarily. She was in danger, and he was going to let her be hurt.

Scar slammed his right hand against the door with enough force that it would have shattered even if he hadn't used his right arm's power. Light flooded in from the room that had been pitch black half a moment ago. Candles all along every wall had been lit. Standing in the middle of the room was Dr. Faust.

And though Scar didn't know it, the doctor was much different that he had been that morning. He was much taller now, standing at least two feet above Alison, and he looked much younger. But still, May and Yoki could clearly tell it was the same man.

The doctor held Alison with a knife pressed against her neck. When Scar burst in, Faust looked up at him and cried, "You know she's the same as those others, Scar!" The silver-haired woman looked at the Ishvalan in fear and confusion. In the flickering light of the candles, he could see a small, crimson streak underneath the blade against her neck. She whimpered is name.

Scar wanted to charge at Faust, but he knew Alison would be killed long before he reached her. "Let her go!" he growled. The doctor laughed maniacally.

"But isn't she your enemy? Her people _destroyed_ yours!" the man screeched as his laughter filled the room.

"Alison never hurt anyone!" Scar responded firmly, "She only ever helped my people!" All fear in the woman's eyes dissolved at his words. Only trust remained.

But he couldn't think of any way to save her. If he moved, he was positive Faust would kill her. He looked around to room, but there was nothing he could use to distract the doctor. Scar decided his only option was to calm Faust. "Let her go," he said again in a quieter but much more lethal voice.

Dr. Faust only laughed again. But this time, he also raised the knife above his head. Alison screamed as he started to bring the knife down. Scar immediately rushed for her, but he knew he wouldn't make it in time.

At the last moment, one of May's kunai pierced the doctor's hand. He dropped the knife and released Alison so he could nurse his wound. Scar grabbed Alison and pulled her behind him as he backed out of the house, never once taking his eyes off the doctor.

Once Alison was safely outside, Scar looked down at May and asked, "Why didn't you do that earlier?" May stuck her tongue out at him and responded, "You were in the way."

"He's not dead yet!" Yoki screeched. And sure enough, Faust was standing in the doorway with his knife tied to his hand. Scar turned to face him and stood so Alison was directly behind him. May ran up beside the Ishvalan.

"Hey, Aurora, how's your head?" the doctor asked. As he spoke, he lifted his left hand, which held an off-white powder, and blew it towards Scar and the others. Because of how close they had been to the doorway, they couldn't get away before inhaling some of the powder.

Scar, May, and Yoki coughed and choked on the powder, but they couldn't feel any immediate affects. Alison, on the other hand, fell to her knees and clutched her head. She started to pant and sweat broke out across her face. She looked like she was about to scream. May ran to her and told her to lie down. The girl placed five kunai around the woman's head to create a transmutation circle. She immediately began to try and cure Alison's headache.

Scar, who had been looking at Alison in concern, turned back to the doctor. "What did you do to her?" he demanded. Scar grabbed Faust and shoved him against his house. The doctor just fell into a fit of laughter. "What. Did. You. Do. To. Her?" Scar punctuated each word by slamming Faust against the house. The false doctor lost his humorous demeanor, but only for a few seconds. Still, Scar didn't miss the look of pure terror that had flashed through his eyes.

Behind the house, Valora watched this scene unfold. She knew her true master was in danger, but she couldn't move. The dark-skinned man would kill her if she did. The paler woman had spared her earlier, but Valora couldn't believe the man would. If she went to her master's aide, she would surely die. And she wasn't ready to die yet, so she remained hidden.

Scar was about to slam Faust into the house again, but then the doctor's face twisted and became pained, strained. He muttered to himself, then started to cry. "Please, you must take Miss Alison away from here!" the doctor begged. Because Scar had never heard the kinder Faust, he could recognize the change in voice. But May heard the difference and told Scar to listen to what he had to say. "T-thank you, Miss May. I…I cannot control this body," Faust continued, "But…But please, you must take Miss Alison from here. If she falls into slumber, she will die."

At those last three words, and unexplainable fear filled Scar. _Alison can't die_ he thought. He glared at the struggling doctor, "Explain. Now!"

"No time, just please, she must leave!" Faust cried, "But first, please…kill me." Scar looked at the man in shock. The doctor's eyes were pleading, and scared. But that fear was soon replaced by the cynical smile from before. His voice also returned to it's previous mocking tone.

"Go ahead! Kill me, you'll never make it out of that valley. Your little friend there will _die_!" Faust spat in Scar's face. A pure rush of anger filled the Ishvalan, and he ended the two-sided doctor's life. His crumbled, bloody body fell to the ground at Scar's feet. He knew Alison would be mad later, but he wasn't concerned with that now. His only concern was on whether or not she would survive.

Alison looked better, but she still looked pained. When Scar asked her what was wrong, she whimpered, "My head feels like it's going to explode." When she saw the worried look in Scar's eyes, though, she began to stand. "But I think if we leave here, I'll feel better," she told him, "There's something in the air, I think."

Scar realized she hadn't been conscience enough to hear his conversation. He considered this a stroke of luck in a dark circumstance. He took Alison's arm and helped her to stand. "I can stand," she told him, but without his support, she nearly fell. "Maybe I can't," she said, trying to make her voice sound as light and cheery as possible. She smiled and her eyes glittered. Scar almost smiled himself, but instead he just held out his arm for Alison to lean on. She sighed and shook her head, making it obvious she thought he had no sense of humor.

He light mood didn't last long, though. Just after they had reached Central City, Alison realized Scar had killed Dr. Faust. She hadn't heard most of Scar's conversation, but he felt like it would be better if she didn't know what Faust had said.

"He was supposed to help me!" she snapped at him.

"He was trying to kill you!" he snapped back at her.

"But Lieu didn't think he was bad!"

"Maybe he was wrong, he is just some cat."

"He's never wrong, and he's not just some cat! Dr. Faust must have had…two personalities or something! I don't know, but the doctor we first met was not the doctor that tried to kill me!"

"Not the same person? Alison, he was the only one there."

"I know! That's why I suggested two personalities! And maybe some kind of illusion, like what I can do. And that would explain why I felt off. I think he's kind of like a siren. Except, instead of luring in sailors, he lures in alchemists. He's obviously heard of both of us, so he must come to town more than he let on. Or Val- that snake-woman told him the news.

"Well anyway, I'm still confused about why May wasn't affected. My best guess says it's because she uses her countries Alkahestry, not Alchemy. There are basic but fundamental differences between the two, and that's probably what made all the difference. But I'm not positive so, like a good alchemist," Alison paused when Scar glared at her, "Sorry, um anyway. I found compounds in the air while we where fighting the snake. Before she…bit you, I gathered them together." Alison reached into one of the pockets of her cargo pants and pulled out a small vile filled with the same powder Faust had blown on her. "I analyze it later," she finished.

"Y'know, if they were arguing about something normal, they'd almost sound like a married couple," Yoki whispered the May. The girl started to giggle, but stopped abruptly when Scar turned and glared at Yoki. "How'd he hear me?" Yoki whimpered as he hid behind May. Alison, who hadn't heard Yoki's comment, was confused as to why Scar suddenly stopped.

"What?" Alison asked Scar. He turned to her, and at that moment, the sun came out from behind some clouds and its light fell on her eyes. They shimmered slightly, like two polished sapphires. They held the same bright, trusting, beautiful yet confused look they had the night Scar awoke in Dr. Faust's house. Scar found his gazed locked in hers. "Are you feeling alright?" Alison asked after he stared for a few seconds. Her voice brought him back to attention and he grumbled, "I'm fine."

He quickly turned and rushed back to the alley that was still abandoned. For the entire trip back, Scar had faced forward and ignored everyone else. Alison started after him confused. She shook her head and shrugged. She stared after him, then ran to keep up with his fast pace.

For most of that night, Alison was awake studying the powder. She was cautious not to inhale any more, though. She wore a mask and she kept her gloves, which she normally would have removed, on so she wouldn't have to touch it. Scar thought if she had to go through so many precautions it wasn't worth studying, but she insisted she'd be able to help him and the others later with her findings.

Just before she fell asleep, Scar asked her why she practiced alchemy. Alison looked at him, she knew Scar wouldn't forget her answer any time soon. She wanted to make sure it was a good one. "I wanted to help people," she started. She explained that before she met Daein, she'd been in Ishval helping two married doctors, Urey and Sara Rockbell. They had begun to teach her about medicine and treating injuries. She claimed that everything she knew about such things she learned from those doctors. They had been very good friends of hers, but then she told Scar that they had been killed in the war.

Alison went on to say she met Daein when he injured himself by falling while he was running from the market place where he had bought the Xingese Alkahestry books. Scar realized the only reason he thought Alison had caused his brother's interest in Alchemy was because her first met her when his brother first showed interest. But know that he thought about it, Scar realized it wasn't until after Alison arrived that his brother changed.

Alison finished by saying Daein believed she could use her knowledge of medicine with her knowledge of alchemy to create knew medicine and other techniques that would help many people. She clung to that idea even ten years after his death. ***

When I woke up, the sun was shining brightly over my head. It had to be at least noon. "Why did you let me sleep so late?" I cried.

"You were snoring too loudly for us to wake you," Scar responded. I looked at Scar in confusion, "Wait, are you serious?" I asked him. He just turned and walked away. May and Yoki burst out laughing. "Wait, was I really snoring that loud? Hey, wait!" The three of us ran after Scar. Was he serious?

We spent the day walking through the city. After the complete dead end Dr. Faust had been, I was reluctant to start searching for anything on the Homunculi just yet. And besides, it didn't take us long to learn everyone in the city was only talking about one thing. Edward Elric.

Apparently, he was going around doing little things for everyone he met. It didn't matter who I talked to, everybody seemed to know him. The whole situation was just weird. Ed didn't like helping random people with such small things. He'd tell these people they were wasting his time and forget about them. And he had to know Scar was in town, which is even more of a reason not to help people considering Ed was a State Alchemist. So did this kid want Scar to find him?

"What do you want me to do?" Scar asked me.

"You're asking me?" I asked him. He didn't answer, but it was clear he wanted me to, "Go after him. I want to know what this idiot's up to now." Scar just nodded. The two of us set out after the older Elric brother. Yoki opted to stay behind, and I _forgot _to mention Ed's name to May, so she didn't want to go.

It wasn't hard for us to find Ed, he was standing right next to Al. I climbed the nearest building, and Scar showed himself. To my surprise, Mustang and Hawkeye stood with the Elrics. Hawkeye noticed Scar first, and she readied her gun as soon as she saw him. I heard Ed mumble, "He's here."

Hawkeye raised her gun and leveled it with Scar, but Ed grabbed her hand. "Don't attack him!" the boy yelled. He then rushed for Scar with Alphonse following closely behind. Scar fought back.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" the Colonel asked Edward. Ed explained he had an idea of how to draw out a Homunculus. That had been Ed's goal all along. But what did that have to do with Scar?

Al went on to explain he wanted Mustang to deal with any Homunculi that showed up. The Colonel was angry that he was being used, but he really didn't have any time to argue. Scar's attacks were relentless, but I knew him well enough to see he wasn't using anywhere near his full strength to fight. He was holding back quite a lot.

But Ed and Al clearly weren't. I noticed Al didn't need a transmutation circle anymore, just like Ed, and Izumi Curtis if I remembered correctly. Both boys clapped their hands together then knelt and placed them on the ground. Fists and demonic heads shot from the stone alleyway and headed straight for Scar. The Ishvalan dodged them with ease.

I heard shouts from down the alley, and a group of soldiers came running with their guns drawn. The men yelled for the Elrics to move, but they boys refused. If they had wanted to capture Scar, those men could have been a great help, so why were the boys telling them to leave. They must have been worried Scar would kill those soldier. I couldn't think of any other reason.

Whatever Ed wanted, he wanted to get it alone. But at this rate, he was going to end up in very bad shape. Even though Scar was holding back, Ed was no match for him, and Al was busy keeping the soldiers away. I was beginning to worry about Ed, but then something strange happened.

Scar sent a shock through the ground that destroyed the ground Ed was standing on. As he fell, Scar rushed towards him, arm pulled back. Just before Scar reached Ed, the younger clapped his hands together then shoved his right hand forward to meet the elder's. A shock was released from the impact that traveled so far I felt it strongly even on this roof. Ed and Scar were both thrown backwards by the force. Their right sleeves were both shredded.

At first, Ed just seemed surprised that idea worked. But when he saw the tattoos on Scar's arm, his face became terrified, cautious, and angry. Al was also angered by the tattoo. The boys looked like they were about to say something, but Scar interrupted them. And just before he did, he took a second to glance up at me. Ed and Al didn't noticed because as Scar looked, he rushed towards them. Sections of the streets and surrounding buildings were blown away by his right arm's power.

This most recent attack caused tremors that went on the effect a woman and the police officers. Al yelled for Scar to not involve innocents, and Scar told the boys if they gave themselves up, he wouldn't have to hurt anyone. I hoped Scar was only acting, but if so he was a pretty good actor.

"If you don't want to involve innocents, then why did you kill Nina?" Al cried.

Scar turned to him and began calmly, "You place so much prestige on your alchemical ability to create. But what is so great about something that turns an innocent girl into a chimera?" he finished in a roar. "An art that creates such tragedy, is that the alchemy you admire?"

It suddenly occurred to me that Scar probably hadn't killed Dr. Faust because of what he did to me, but because the doctor reminded him of Shou Tucker. I was unexplainably dismayed by this, but it made so much more sense. Especially after what Faust had said, Scar wouldn't want to save an alchemist.

While I was in this reverie, the wind shifted. It began to carry the fighters' voices away and made it harder and harder for me to hear. I could see Ed becoming angry. I think he was questioning Scar about something, but I just couldn't hear. Then, I noticed someone running through a small side alley. It was Winry Rockbell. Ed didn't see her, but Al did. When the younger brother saw the girl, he started trying to get the elder's attention, but he was ignored. The wind died down as Ed raised his voice. I heard him shout, "Don't tell me you've forgotten the doctors who saved your life and got killed by you, you son of a bitch!"

At the moment Ed finished, he finally saw Winry. Her eyes were wide and she muttered, "What, what…do you mean. This person…murdered…my parents?" She looked at Scar and asked him why he wouldn't deny it. She fell to the ground and tears formed in her eyes. She asked him why he killed them, then screamed for him to give her parents back.

At the same time, tears were forming in my own eyes. Just the night before, I told Scar how much Urey and Sara had meant to me. Had he really killed them? Why wasn't he denying it? Why would he have saved people who saved him? Would he do the same to me? These thoughts raced through my mind as I watched Winry fall apart.

The girl's hands fell to the ground and landed on a gun left behind by one of the soldiers. Ed yelled for her not to pick it up, but her fingers wrapped around it. With shaking arms, she pointed the gun strait at Scar. I wanted so badly to do something. But I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't want Scar to be hurt, but at the same time, I felt betrayed and furious that he killed two of my closest friends. I almost screamed in frustration.

I heard shouts and cries, but I couldn't understand any of them. My mind was a mess. But I could see and I could understand that. Ed threw himself in front of Winry. He pinned her hand to the ground and held himself between her and Scar.

Scar launched himself at the two, and I thought he was going to kill them. But just before he reached them, he stopped. For half a moment, his eyes grew distant, like he was remembering something. That moment was just enough time for Al to launch his own attack against Scar. The attack sent Scar running into another small side alley. Al followed closely behind. I wasn't sure what I would do anymore, but I knew I wanted to stay close to the fight, so I followed as well.

It was harder than expected to run through the city on rooftops, so when I finally found Scar, Ed had already returned to the fight. Now that Al and Ed were both focused fully on Scar, I could see he could hold back as much anymore. Scar was a good fighter, but so were the boys. And Al didn't get tired. I didn't know how much longer Scar could keep this up.

But I didn't have time to worry about that. A new problem had come up. Based on Mustang's description, the Homunculus, Gluttony, was coming towards us fast. Ed saw him first and shouted, "Where the hell's Ling?"

Both boys were focused on finding this man named Ling, and Scar hadn't seen Gluttony yet so he didn't know what was going on. He must have decided that didn't matter though, because when the boys turned their attention back to him he fought back just has he had before. But I could tell he was tiring, and if Gluttony attacked him too, I didn't know if he'd be able to handle it. I still felt like I could scream in frustration over Scar, but I just couldn't let him or the Elric boys be hurt. So I ran after Gluttony to fight him myself.


	15. Seperation

Scar was furious. The Elrics boys were proving to be more of a bother than he had expected. Because of them and that Winry girl, Alison knew he killed those doctors. He couldn't remember what he was thinking when he woke up in their care, but that didn't matter now. She must have been devastated. For days now, every time she had looked at him he was a look pure trust in her eyes. But now that trust would be gone, and this simple fact caused Scar to be completely enraged.

He turned his rage towards the Elric brothers, and although the Fullmetal Alchemist seemed to be tiring, the armor-clad brother was not. Scar could handle every attack the brothers tried, but not for much longer. The fight needed to finish soon.

And it would have, but then the Elrics must have seen something, because both of them turned their attention to a figure running across a building. At first Scar thought it might have been Alison, he knew she liked to watch from rooftops, butt hen her saw what the boys were looking at. A grotesquely fat, large man was launching himself right at the Ishvalan. Scar recognized the man from the sewers under East City.

A dark feeling crept inside him. He knew he could fight both the Elrics and this newcomer. Fullmetal must have realized this, because he took advantage and rushed at Scar from a second direction. The armored brother followed. Scar was surrounded.

He only had several second to come up with an idea, but this proved unnecessary. Alison arrived in enough time to tackle the newcomer and provide an opening for the Ishvalan. He jumped out of the way of the brothers and turned to face her.

She was tackling the newcomer, but overcame him easily. "No, I'm not supposed to eat you. You might be a sacrifice," the man said in a childish voice. Alison was clearly confused by his words, but disregarded them. The man tried to get away from her so he could fight Scar, but she stopped every attempt. After only a few minutes, she lured the man into getting mixed up with the Elrics. The three of them didn't want to fight each other, but the man was getting frustrated and confused. He just started attacking everything in front of him.

While those three were distracted, Alison turned to Scar. Now that she had stopped moving, he could see tears in her eyes. "Did you really…kill Urey and Sara?" she asked. Her voice was quiet, it wasn't angry; it didn't have any emotion at all.

Scar hesitated. He wanted her to know the truth, but he didn't want to upset her anymore. Fortunately for him, the newcomer had changed his mind and returned. Unfortunately, Scar noticed him a second too late. The man slammed into Alison and threw against a nearby building. The Ishvalan could hear the air leave her lungs as she fell to the ground. But he didn't have anytime to worry about her. The man was already heading straight for him.

Scar easily dodged the first attack and returned it by slapping his right against the newcomer's back. Though he remembered from their first fight that this wouldn't work, he still used the power in his right arm. Blood poured from the man's mouth and eyes, but he still fought undeterred. The man planted his feet firmly and launched himself at Scar. Both crashed into nearby building, but unlike when Alison had been attack, Scar was crushed by the man as well. He could feel a few of his ribs crack under the pressure.

The newcomer reared back and prepared for another assault, but he was stopped by yet another late arrival to the fight. This time it was a young Xingese man the Elrics addressed as Ling. "I've got Gluttony!" Ling called, "Now everyone get down!" He pulled out a small, lit bomb that he shoved down Gluttony's throat. The he himself ran to hide. A few moments later, the bomb went off.

Scar had already walked over to where Alison was lying. She was still unconscious, and he didn't want her to be hurt further. When the explosion rocked the small street, she woke up with a start. The first thing she saw was the hideously injured Homunculus. The site of him nearly made her lose consciousness in terror and disgust, but she managed to remain awake.

Ed and Al were both terrified by the site as well, but Ling showed no reaction. Instead he called to Ed for some metal wire, which the boy transmuted immediately. By now Gluttony had already started to regenerate, but before he could completely heal, Ling wrapped the wire around him. The Homunculus was left rolled into a ball.

Scar was hopeless confused. He had no idea who this 'Gluttony' was, and he had no idea how he had recovered so quickly. He heard Alison gasp, "A Homunculus," behind him. He remembered everything she had told him a few days ago, and he realized she was right about the now trapped man. But who was the Xingese man, and what did he have to do with the Elrics?

He didn't have time to think about it. Alison was awake, and he knew she would let him go so easily. He turned to face her but before she could say anything, a gunshot rang out and he felt an intense pain shoot through his thigh. Looking down, he saw he had been shot. He cried out in pain and looking up saw a woman with blonde hair and glasses was holding the gun.

Alison had been looking at him with distrust and fear, but when he was shot her face melted into a mask of concern. She wanted to go to him and tend to the wound, but the woman with the gun called to her. Alison looked back and forth between the woman and the Ishvalan. She was called for again, and with regretful eyes followed the woman. The Elrics stayed behind, but Ling took the Homunculus and left with the women. Scar was left wounded to fight the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother.

At this point, Scar knew he'd lose the battle. He could barely move with his wounded legs and broken ribs, and even if he could have, he was far to exhausted to fight anymore. Whatever the boys wanted, they were going to get it.

Or at least, that's what Scar thought. Alphonse was about the strike him down, but then May arrived and fought off the larger Elric. She quickly disabled both of them with quick, skilled martial arts. She used her small size and natural agility to easily out maneuver Al, while a short remark about Ed's height had him furious which made it easy for her to make him fall. Once they were down, May helped Scar back to the alley.

On the way, Scar thought about the fight he'd just been in. He thought about that girl, Winry's, eyes. There had been no life, no light in them that a normal person's eye should have had. The only thing he could see was a consuming hatred and desire for his death. He looked down at his arm, at the tattoos that covered it, and wondered if he had the same eyes. "Will hatred bring nothing but hatred no matter where I go?" he muttered.

Once they were relatively safe, May used her Alkahestry to heal the bullet wound. The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Lieu crawled up to Scar and mewed softly. He picked up the cat and thought of what Alison would do when she realized she left without him. But thinking about her only caused to anger him. _No, _he thought, _I'm not angry. I'm…upset._

And so was May. His thoughts were interrupted by her crying. She realized she hadn't just lost Alison; Xiao Mei was also missing. May explained how she found Xiao Mei and what they had been through, including crossing the desert between Xing and Amestris. She said they needed to find her.

"No! No way. It's impossible to find such a small cat in a city this big!" Yoki told the girl. At his words she burst into tears and said, "But she's just a little panda! She'll get hurt or…or eaten! We have to look for her!" Their arguing would have continued, but Scar stood and began to walk down the alley. At Yoki and May's questioning, he said that now would be the best time to look for Xiao Mei. He also said he owed May for fixing his leg, so he might as well pay her back now.

_Besides, _he thought, _I want to find Alison, regardless of how she sees me now. Searching for this girl's cat will be the best way for me to search the city._

"He looks scary…but he's really a nice person, isn't he?" May asked to no one in particular.

"No," Yoki responded, "His people were destroyed in the last civil war. He's just thinking about what could happen to your own clan." May didn't quite believe him, but she didn't argue against him either. Scar, who had turned to see they weren't following him, called, "Will we search?"

"Yes, Yoki-san's servant!" May responded joyfully. She ran after him and he told her to stop calling him a servant. "But I don't know your name," she told him.

"I don't have name anymore. Call me whatever you wish," he responded.

"Okay, how about Mr. X?"

"No, that won't work either." For the rest of the day, the trio searched for Xiao Mei while May tried to come up with a good name. In the end, she decided on 'Scar', but then realized that's what Alison had been calling him. ***

Hawkeye was racing through back streets and alley on her way to who knows where. I wasn't sure if I'd made the right decision by coming along, but I knew I would be able to face Scar again right now. My heart was torn to the point of shredding. I'd trusted him for awhile now, but if he really did kill Urey and Sara then what was stopping him from killing me. All the Rockbell's did was help him. I helped him too, but I was a State Alchemist. I may have quit, but I still used and studied alchemy. He had ever reason to still hold his grudge against me.

But at least the car ride was quiet. Hawkeye didn't ask about Scar, and the Xingese man Ling, who I remembered seeing with Barry the Chopper the night Mustang helped Maria Ross escape the country, only said he needed to pick up a friend before we arrived. When we found her friend, I was shocked and concerned to see she had recently lost her left arm. Severe blood loss had her on the verge of fainting, and she had a high fever. As soon as she was in Hawkeye's car, I started bandaging her wound and trying to bring her fever down. Ling seemed like he didn't trust me, but when I told him I had planned on being a doctor before joining the army he left me alone.

Around nightfall, we reached a small cabin in the woods. Mustang, the Elric brothers, and a man I knew to be Dr. Knox were waiting. As soon as the doctor saw Ling's friend he carried her to a bedroom filled with enough medical apparatuses to make it almost seem like we were in a hospital room. He immediately went to work provided much more superior treatment to the wounded girl than I had. Dr. Knox administered some painkillers and she fell peacefully asleep.

While he worked, I had stayed in the bedroom for two reasons. One: the doctor said he needed an assistant and I was by far the most qualified. He knew me too, so he specifically asked that I help. Two: I was afraid to face Mustang and the Elrics. When Scar was shot, I didn't exactly hide my concern and I had no doubt that Hawkeye and both the bother's saw. And besides that, as soon as I showed up in that fight, I started talking to Scar. Ed and Al wouldn't miss that, and they'd assume I had some connection with him. And now that Ling's friend, who's name I now knew was Lan Fan, was fast asleep, I would have to face Mustang and the Elrics.

(Author's Note: Bad news involving Florida and Nora Roberts…And my mom. I won't be able to update every three days for a bit. In two weeks I'm going to Florida for a week and won't be able to get anything done… But besides that, my mom recently bought me the book _Naked In Death_ by J.D. Robb (a.k.a Nora Roberts) and I am now addicted to the series…which has around 40 books in it (give or take). And to make things even more complicated, I found myself writing a new fanfiction the other day (I have very little self control). This one's about _Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles_. And New York. I will probably have the first chapter uploaded sometime before I leave for Florida…or maybe not.)


	16. Gluttony

"What the hell have you been doing?" Mustang snapped at me. "The Fullmetal brat told me what he saw. What is your relationship with Scar?"

_Straight to the point,_ I thought bitterly. But then I softened, "I…I don't know anymore."

"Citrona, he's a murderer!" he yelled.

"I know! But!...But he never hurt me. He…he saved me." I tried to explain.

Confusion now dominated Mustang's face, "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice no longer angry but still accusing. I told him about Yoki almost running me over, about the thugs kidnapping me, and about the fiasco with Dr. Faust. I thought about leaving May out; I was worried about her coming to Amestris illegally, but I didn't think Mustang would care too much about that. Besides, I saw her come for Scar. She fought the Elric brothers, so I had no doubt they'd only be angrier with me if I lied about her know. I finished by story by telling Mustang Scar basically carried me back to Central.

"…Do you trust him?" the colonel asked. I looked away and closed my eyes. I really didn't know anymore. I thought I did, but if he really did kill…

"I don't know anymore," I told him again.

Mustang sighed, "Are you still loyal to me?"

"Of course I am!" I cried. Mustang smiled then said, "Then I understand. But that Fullmetal brat won't. Don't worry, I deal with him." I turned back to him with pleading eyes. He smiled again.

"But why? Why are you so willing to trust me?" I asked. Mustang looked shocked for a moment; then answered, "Because I need you. Especially now that I know there are dangers within the military, I need someone who can move outside of those lines. And, when I asked if you're still loyal, you became flustered and answered immediately," he laughed. I smiled.

Mustang was about to say something else, but then Ling's voice rose up, "What's this thing?" He was pointing to Gluttony. The colonel explained he was a Homunculus, and he explained what a Homunculus was. While he was explaining, Ling seemed to realize something.

"Fuehrer Bradley is a Homunculus!" he exclaimed. Mustang, Ed, Al, who had walked out while the colonel was talking to Ling, and I all gave Ling confused looks. Well not so much Al but…

"What do you mean?" Ed asked.

"He was super-humanly strong!" Ling explained, "And he had a tattoo on his eye under the eye patch."

"But surely someone would have noticed," Mustang said, "And Homunculi can't have children. What about Selim?" Everyone was silent, doubting Ling. But then I remembered, "Selim was adopted."

"She's right," Dr. Knox agreed. Unexpectedly, this revelation excited Mustang. He saw this as the perfect opportunity to advance him towards the throne.

"Well you're as power-mad as ever," Ed sneered. Mustang turned to glare at him. Meanwhile, Gluttony was reacting to something. I noticed him first. He was muttering something about the colonel. But by the time I figured out what it was, it was already to late.

"Roy Mustang killed Lust?" the Homunculus growled as he burst free of the metal wire wrapped around his body. As soon he was free, a strange explosion burst forth. Large section of the shed and forest surrounding Gluttony just disappeared. We barely managed to jump out of the way in time.

And when I turned up to Gluttony, I was horrified. He wasn't the somewhat adorable, fat little thing he'd been before. The front of his body was split in half with large teeth lining the fissure. A giant eye sat in the middle of the opening. The blast had come from the area surrounding the eye.

Responding to the sounds of destruction, Lieutenant Hawkeye came running towards us. But before she even came close, Mustang yelled for her to stay back. "Its target is me!" he called. As if to prove this statement, Gluttony immediately turned and attacked the colonel. In return, Mustang pulled on his inscribed gloves and snapped his fingers. A great ball of flame leapt out at the monster. I followed his lead and created my own balls of fire.

In astonishment Mustang turned to me, "When the hell did you learn to do that?" he shouted.

"When you sent me on the wrong train!" I shouted back. It took him a second to remember, but when he did he just laughed apologetically. I glared, and we continued our onslaught. But we soon began to realize our attacks were being eaten by Gluttony.

"And the colonel's just as useless as ever," Ed snickered. Mustang started to glare, but then Gluttony returned with a blast that nearly took all our heads. The colonel shouted for us to scatter, and the Homunculus immediately chased after him. He ran fast, but it soon became obvious the wounds that had hospitalized him before were still hurting him.

Hawkeye jumped out form behind a tree and began firing rounds of bullets at Gluttony. While she had him distracted, Ed and I worked to help the colonel. I carried him away from the fight, and Ed created a doll that really didn't look all that much like Mustang. But if you looked at it form behind in the middle of the night surrounded by trees that made it almost to dark to see, like Gluttony was, you might, _might_, fall for it. And Gluttony did.

The upper half of the doll was blown away revealing a mound of dirt. But by the time Gluttony figured that out, we were almost in Dr. Knox's car. Ling was waiting for us, urging us to hurry while holding Lan Fan. She looked like she was in a lot of pain, but was trying her best to hide it.

Before he realized what was happening, we were shoving Mustang into the car. "I can't just leave!" he snapped.

"You're a burden!" Ed snapped back at the same time that Hawkeye said, "You really are useless right now." This left the almighty colonel mumbling "useless" to himself while curled up in the fetal position. I still wish I had a picture.

Dr. Knox told the Elrics, Ling, and me to get in too, but it was clear we would fit, especially Al. The doctor seemed displeased, but he drove away nonetheless. Now the four of us were faced with an enraged Homunculus. On second thought, maybe staying behind _wasn't_ a good idea.

Before they had a chance to drive away, Hawkeye called Edward. She handed him on of her guns. He shook his head, but she insisted he take it. He looked depressed, so the Lieutenant said, "It's not a machine for killing. It's a machine for survival. Citrona can't use guns, so I have to give it to you." Reluctantly, Ed nodded and took the gun. He turned back towards the forest, and on the way his eyes crossed mine. Reluctance turned to distrust and anger, but faded just as quickly as it had arrived. I wanted to do or say something, but I knew nothing I could say would gain back the trust he'd lost.

So decided to turn my attention to Gluttony. But as soon as we saw him again, he swallowed more of the forest. At the same time, Ling, and a strange cat I hadn't noticed before, turned towards another section of the forest. "Xiao Mei?" I called as a giant black horse ran past us. The cat turned to me, but I told her to stay with Al. She'd be much safer in his armor than with me. Then I turned to the horse.

"Stop it, Gluttony," it said. The four of us took several quick steps backwards. "Did that horse just talk?" Ed yelled. It looked towards us then seemed to recognize Ling. In a grotesque show, I transformed into what I assumed must be the Homunculus, Envy. "Long time no see, Fullmetal Bean," it called. It was immediately obvious how much of a bad idea that was.

Ed charged head first towards Envy. If Ed's kick hadn't missed, Envy would have lost his head for sure. Calling Ed short: probably one of the stupidest, most suicidal things you could do.

"W-What! I'm not planning on fighting you, Bean!" Envy cried, seeming completely sincere.

"That's five!" Ed snapped back with punch that probably would have taken off Envy's head just as well as the kick. Ed went on to explain Envy had called him a bean for the fifth time just now. Al and I both put our palms to our faces.

Ed was furious to the point of becoming a monster, so Al stopped him before he could anger Envy. "Brother, stop! Don't provoke him!" the younger Elric pleaded.

"Seriously! I'm not here to fight!" Envy insisted then he noticed Ling and said, "Oh, hey Squinty-eyes." Envy looked down at Gluttony, who was crying about not being able to eat Mustang even though he killed Lust, and smiled. "On second thought, there is someone you can eat, Gluttony. Just don't eat the Elrics! Or that Citrona girl, Father insists she could be useful." Gluttony smiled. I think.

Wait, _useful_? What the hell did that mean? And who was Father? I wanted to ask, but then Gluttony charged for Ling, and the Elrics and me. But before they could get close, Ed created a giant brick wall between the Homunculi. "Ling, Alison, you two take care of that side!" Ed shouted as he ran after Gluttony, leaving Ling and me to face Envy.

The Homunculus was fast, but so were Ling and I. But Envy could change shape. When Ling, who had a sword, thrust it at Envy, he was wrapped by an arm that changed to appear almost snake-like. But, a quick burst of flame from me brought cause the Homunculus to withdraw. In response, Envy turned to me and turned his arm into a lethal blade. I was momentarily disappointed by my lack of any real weapons, but I didn't have time to worry about that. Instead, I focused on dodging Envy's attacks while Ling countered the blade with his own.

When Ling had Envy distracted, I focused on creating a cloud that would hopefully serve to center lightning on the Homunculus. "Ling, move!" I shouted moments before I unleashed a torrent of electricity. Ling moved just in time to see the light show.

"Whoa, that was amazing!" Ling cried. I laughed at his enthusiasm, but Envy wasn't very happy.

"Don't get so cocky!" the Homunculus snapped.

"Don't underestimate humans," I responded. At that moment, Gluttony tossed Al behind the wall Ed had made. "Hey, watch it!" Ling called. The fatter Homunculus was immediately pulled back by the Elrics, leaving Ling and I for Envy once again.

Ling launched into a powerful series of devastating combos that ended with Envy flat on the ground. It appeared as if Ling would just hack away at Envy until he died one to many times. But the Homunculus was expecting this. He shifted his appearance to an exact likeness of Lan Fan. Ling froze.

And Gluttony appeared again. He rushed for Ling. Ed and I both ran to try and snap Ling back into focus. We started to pull him away, but then a bright flash of light engulfed us. The last thing I heard was Al called out to Ed. Then, all I could see was blackness, and I couldn't hear a thing. ***

A wind cold as ice blew across Scar. He looked around, but no one else seemed to notice. He found this incredibly strange, because he felt the chill so deep his bones felt cold. Almost against his will, his thoughts turned to Alison. He couldn't help but feel that she was in trouble. He felt like she was hurt, or lost, or…

_No!_ he told himself, _she's not dead. I'm…overreacting_. He continued to tell himself this throughout the day as he helped May look for Xiao Mei.

(Author's Note: AAHH! I feel like this chapter is way to short, but I don't want to ruin the perfect ending! Well, maybe not perfect but…Anyway! I'm going to Florida in three days! I can already feel the sunburn. I've been bragging constantly, I live in a small farm town surrounded by cows. Beaches are pretty much legendary…Which makes Florida pretty much Mount Olympus ^^ And! I'm almost done with the first chapter of my next fanfiction! Thank God spring break starts right after I get back from Florida or I'd never get anything done XP

Oh yeah, Face Palm FMA style! I must say I'm proud of myself for working tha tin there…wow this is getting really long.

So many cows… I think I figured out why Ed hates milk so much.)


	17. More Chimeras

After about two days of hard searching, May began to lose hope of ever finding Xiao Mei. She and Scar had been over every inch of the city, but they hadn't even found a single person who had seen the panda. May came up with the idea of Lieu tracking her by scent, but the kitten's nose wasn't anywhere near strong enough. By the end of the second day, Yoki was missing and everyone was out of ideas.

But in truth, Scar hadn't been searching hard. His mind was preoccupied. Ever since he had felt that freezing wind, he'd had the nagging feeling something was wrong with Alison. He didn't understand why he had this feeling, but he did understand why he worried so much.

He'd realized long ago he cared deeply for her. Despite what he'd said and what she believed, his feelings for her had started even before the war in Ishval and driven them apart. But back then, he'd denied it. He was stubborn and refused to believe he could care for an Amestrian. Now he knew Alison was different.

Unlike most Amestrians Scar had met, she wasn't cruel or heartless to him because of his heritage. It didn't seem to affect her at all. She treated him, and all Ishvalans, like they were equal. He remembered clearly thinking this couldn't be possible. Because of the war and various other reasons, he had convinced himself no Amestrian could care for his people. And far too late, he had realized she wasn't just any other Amestrian.

Several nights before he learned State Alchemist were coming to Ishval, and the last night Alison had come to see Daein, Scar remembered Daein had asked her about her parents. She had complimented his mother about something that he couldn't remember, and this prompted Daein to inquire about her own parents.

"_My parents? They…died. A long time ago"_ she had said. She explained how her mother had died in childbirth. Alison was her mother's first and only child. After her mother's death, her father had fallen into a deep depression. He began drinking uncontrollably. His temper became uncontrollable as well. Scar remembered her explaining some of the abuse she endure. But not once did her voice waver or weaken. He'd been frankly shocked she been through all of that, and that she could retell the experiences so strongly, as if she was speaking about someone else.

_No,_ he thought, _if she'd been speaking about someone else, she would have been in tears._ She's then went on to say her father drunk himself to death by the time she was five years old. Afterwards, an old Ishvalan woman had adopted her. She said it was because of this woman that she was the woman she was. She said the woman was kind and gentle and taught her to be the same.

"_What happened to her?"_ Daein had asked. He had immediately regretted it, because he was worried the Ishvalan woman might have died as well, but Alison had smiled. _"Grandma…ah, I mean the woman who raised me, is trying to open an orphanage,"_ she'd said. She'd been excited about it opening too. She explain how children from across the country would be able to live there, regardless of race. Scar had known such a place really would have been a dream come true for her.

"I found her!" May's voice cut through to Scar. At first he thought the girl was talking about Alison, but then he remembered Xiao Mei. He turned to look at where May was pointing and saw Alphonse Elric following the Homunculus from earlier. On the younger Elric's shoulder sat the panda. "The metal monster kidnapped Xiao Mei!" cried May.

The small child fell into a rage calling Al every insult she could think of. She started to run after the Elric, but Scar stopped her. He warned her about Gluttony and his regenerative ability. He didn't want her getting into a fight she couldn't win. But she insisted she needed to get Xiao Mei before something bad happened.

And despite his objections, she soon got her opportunity to follow Al and Gluttony. Two guards had rounded a corner only a few yards away. The two with Xiao Mei had entered an old, beaten metal grate that covered a long hallway into an old warehouse. Scar and May followed.

Once inside, he immediately noticed the ground was rumbling. He also noticed a set of stairs running down below the warehouse. He started to walk towards the stairs, but May wasn't following him. He turned to her and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I…I don't like this place. Ever since I entered this country, I've had a strange feeling, but down there, I can feel things crawling around. I don't like it," the girl tried to explain. Scar wasn't too sure what she meant, but he knew he could feel something strange as well. And, his gut told him Alison was connected in some way. It was obvious to him May was afraid, and Lieu was as well, but he wanted to find Alison and she wanted to find Xiao Mei, so they walked down the stairs.

Before long, there certainly were things crawling around. Once again, May and Scar were pitted against chimeras. However, these were only animal hybrids. Not a single one was even remotely human, so they were considerably easier to face than Dr. Faust's chimeras had been. Still, Scar made sure he anything part snake kept its fangs away from him.

Using his right arm's power, he was easily able to cripple the number of chimeras. May was also able to fight her way through many of the beasts. But there was still a large number waiting for them. Scar sighed and resigned himself to another long fight.

After they duo had beaten down a particularly large crowd a chimeras, a giant three-headed dog came running towards them. Without a moment to spare both fighters reacted. May threw five kunai at the middle dog's head. She placed her small hands in a circle she'd already made of kunai. Immediately, the middle dog's head was crushed by an unseen force. It yelped once, but then resumed it's charge.

The two remaining heads opened their jaws and prepared to attack Scar, but he held out his right arm and shoved against the crushed middle head. With one quick burst, the three-headed chimera was killed. But there were still dozens of chimeras waiting around them.

Scar glanced at May to ensure she hadn't been hurt. She appeared unharmed, but she was shivering violently. "Below…I don't like it below," the girl muttered. Lieu, who had been hiding in a sash wrapped around the girl, was shivering almost as hard as May.

The Ishvalan turned to glared at the approaching crowd of enemies. "So there are still more below," he assumed. But the girl shook her head.

"That's not it!" she cried. It had become obvious she was completely terrified. "This feeling…it feels like a person!" Scar didn't know what kind of person would frighten her like this, and he was almost certain he didn't want to know. But at the same time, the nagging feeling about Alison told him he needed to head down the hallway.

May reluctant about following, but she'd rather be with Scar than alone down here. Many more chimeras blocked their path, but none were as challenging as the three-headed dog. At least, not until the duo met an even bigger chimera. This one had the body of a lion, the head and wings of an eagle, and the tail of a snake.

_Snakes again,_ Scar thought bitterly. But he didn't have time to brood. The snake tail was immensely long and flexible. He took a moment to be glad the beast couldn't fly. If they'd been out in the open, he and May would be no match. But with the low ceiling the tunnel provided, the beast didn't have anywhere near enough room to use its powerful wings. At least, not for flight.

One of the wings clipped May as she ran behind the beast. She was flung against the wall and momentarily knocked unconscious. Scar immediately ran to her aide, and Lieu hopped out of the sash. He licked the girl's cheek, while the Ishvalan focused on the beast. The eagle head snapped at him, but he was able to keep it at bay with powerful attacks learned from years of training as a warrior priest.

But he could only hold off so much. A giant lion's paw came slashing towards him. He did his best to block the attack, but he felt a stinging pain as the claws of the paw cut into his left arm. He growled in frustration and beat back the monster. He was about to blow it apart, but the snake tail rushed for him. He had a momentary flashback of when he'd been bitten before, and he backed away.

He couldn't risk getting bitten now. May was unconscious, and he had become sure Alison was in trouble. And, when he's been bitten before, Alison had cried for him. He didn't want her to worry about him, or cry, so he needed to be careful with the snake tail.

He began dodging every attack the beast sent at him. He started to worry this would continue for far too long, but he didn't need to bother being concerned. May had awoken and threw a circle of kunai at the base of the tail. With a small blast, the tail fell dead from the body. Scar smiled.

He charged without fear at the monster. Scrapes and bruises were not nearly as bad as venom, so he had so problem finally finishing the beast. It fell alongside its troublesome tail. With that done, Scar returned to May. The first thing she saw was the wounds on his left arm.

"You're hurt!" she cried. But Scar shook his head and said, "No time." And he was right. More and more chimera were quickly filling the small hallway. The need to move fast or they'd be engulfed. May looked concerned, but she called Lieu and they continued down the hall.

Shortly after, they arrived in a large room with a man sitting on a throne-like chair in the center. Al and the Homunculus were already in the room along with the man. Alison was nowhere to be seen, despite what Scar so firmly believed. Still, he had the strongest feeling she was there somewhere, so he tried his hardest to hear what was being said.

"…nothing I can do," the man on the throne said.

"There has to be!" Al shouted, "One of your followers is in there too!"

"I've already told you! There is no possible way to escape that place! Give up," the man responded. Al just shook his hollow head. At the same time, a dark feeling was growing inside Scar.

"B-but, I can't give up…Brother…Ling…Alison…are you really dead?" the younger Elric cried.

More was said, but Scar didn't, couldn't hear it. The dark feeling had grown into an ice cold hand that had gripped his heart. _Alison…dead?_ He thought. Against his better judgment, he can forward and called, "What do you mean? Where is Alison?"

Al turned in what must have been surprise. If his face could have looked confused, it would have. But then he said in a voice that so reflected the child he really was, "G-Gluttony…ate her."

The icy hand around Scar's heart gripped it tightly. He would have sworn its beating stopped then. Those three words dominated his thoughts. At least, they did until three more came to him. _Alison is dead._

He didn't want to believe it, but he thought about the day and the feeling he'd had. Alison had been in trouble. She'd needed him, and he was who knows how far away. He nearly shouted in frustration. He refused to believe this could be happening. After ten long years, he'd finally seen her again. She couldn't be gone. She just couldn't.

"_What do you mean?_" Scar said again. Al backed away at the pure fury that had engulfed the Ishvalan. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now. The man on the throne turned to him. Shadows fell on the man's face, completely obscuring his identity. But somehow Scar knew he was glaring.

"Who are you. You do not belong. Leave. Your friends, and my son, cannot return. This pitiful emotion, anger, is futile. She will not return," the man said firmly. But his words only served to fuel Scar's anger. He was about to charge for the man, but then a bright light erupted from within Gluttony.

(Author's Note: I had an epiphany! Well, I had two, and one was weeks ago…but I had one earlier today! And TAADAA! It lead to this chapter being written. I spent all day working furiously on it. I'm very proud of myself…especially considering the first time I thought I was done with it I realized it was WAY to short. Seriously, I piss myself off so bad when I do that! Anyway, this is _definitely_ the last chapter before I leave for Florida. :P

Oh, and I am one of the biggest Bleach nerds I know so I have to add this in… Nel came back! And Harribel!…can someone please help her. So yeah, now I'm practically praying Grimmjow comes back too ^^)


	18. Escape

Everywhere I looked, darkness surrounded me. I strained my eyes and ears, but I could hear or see anything. Only an omnipresent, crushing silence. I spent several minutes trying to refuse a simple truth that was arising in my thoughts. But in the end, this truth burst forth. _I was alone_.

I was alone, I couldn't see, I couldn't hear. Fear rushed through my veins and froze my heart. Even under normal circumstances, being alone frightened me. When I was alone, anything could happen to any number of my friends, and I couldn't be there to do anything about it. I hated being alone. I hated it.

And almost as much as I hated being alone, I hated the dark and I hated the silence. All of my worst nightmares came to life in this place. I saw Daein being killed, I saw Hughes being shot, I saw Valora biting Scar.

_Scar!_ The thought of him sent confused feelings through me. I was…afraid of him. He killed two of my dearest friends, and he so many others. But at the same time, I wanted to just see him now more than any other person. If he were here, then at least I wouldn't be alone anymore.

But Scar wasn't here. Nobody was. Fear gripped me again and I fell to tears. I cried because I was afraid. I thought I'd never see anyone again. I thought I'd die alone in this dark, silent place. The blackness around me suddenly grew so much heavier and so much more terrifying. I screamed for anyone to find me. I cried as loud as I could, hoping anyone would here me. But soon my voice broke and I realized it was useless. No one was here. I started to cry again.

I don't know how long I sat there crying, but it felt like hours. The darkness never brightened and the silence never lessened. I thought I would go crazy in that place. But then I started to think of something else.

I think I was starting to get tired, but I didn't want to fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw nightmares. I knew if I fell asleep the nightmares would only get worse. But then I thought of something else and my fears started to recede a bit. I thought of Scar again.

And with Scar came a wave of mixed emotions. I miss him; I wanted him to be here. But at the same time, I was afraid of him and didn't want him to be anywhere near me. He killed Urey and Sara Rockbell, but he saved my life several times. He hurt so many people, but he always protected me. He never hurt me. But he easily could. The Rockbells had only been trying to help him. And while I tried to help him, I had been a State Alchemist. I wasn't anymore, but I still used alchemy despite knowing what Scar thought.

And yet he never even tried to hurt me. The more I thought about him, the more confused I became. Nothing made any sense. He had every reason to hate me, but he didn't. I couldn't think of any reason why he'd want to help me, much less save me. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted him to be here. As time went on, the only thing I wanted was for him to be here.

By now, I could see a faint light growing brighter. After a while, I started to see two figures walking around the source of the light. One figure was far taller than the other, and the short one was holding the source. It looked like a simple torch.

More out of an intense desire to be around another human than any form of rationality, sense, or logic, I stood and headed for the light. As I got closer, I was able to see the faces of the figures. They were Ed and that Xingese man, Ling. I was so relieved to see people I knew that as smile immediately broke out across my face and I waved to get their attention. Ling saw me first and waved back.

"Ed, Ling, I'm so happy to see you!" I cried. But when I approached, Ed threw up is hand to stop me. He glared furiously and asked, "You're Envy, aren't you. Alison is more cautious. Even though there's two of us, she'd still ask."

"You're right," I responded, "Normally, I would ask. But honestly, the thought of either of you being Envy didn't even cross my mind. I just don't want to be alone anymore. Please, don't leave me alone," I begged. Tears were beginning to form in my eyes again. Ed's gaze didn't soften.

"That's a good act, but I'm still not convinced. If you're Alison, then what have you been doing?" I blinked in surprise. To anyone else, Envy in particular, this question would have appeared far too vague to solve anything, much less answer. But this was the perfect question to prove I was myself, and give the answer Ed truly wanted. _What is my connection with Scar?_

"I've been doing a lot," I responded.

"Did you know?" Ed asked. Ling looked hopelessly confused, but I knew Ed was referring to Winry's parents.

"I didn't know," I responded, "he never told me."

"Never told you? Wow, I'm surprised a psychopath like him isn't bragging about every last innocent person he's killed!" Ed snapped.

"He is not a psychopath!" I snapped back. Ed's words infuriated me, but I wasn't sure why. Every ounce of logic I had told me he was right. Every rational part of me said Scar was dangerous. But I was running desperately low on logic and Lieu had most of my rational parts.

"You're…_defending_ him?" Ed asked dubiously.

"He's helped me, protected me, and saved my life! Yes, I'm defending him." Ed took a step back and looked just as confused as Ling. "He… saved you?" he asked. I nodded firmly.

Ed stared in silence so Ling took the chance to say, "I'm not too sure what's going on, but he might not wish to stay here. The spe- Ed and I have been walking for quite some time without finding anything. We know Gluttony swallowed us, but we don't know how to escape."

"Gluttony…swallowed us?" I asked frightened, "But how? Is this place his…stomach?"

Ed sighed but his gaze still remained harsh as he said, "We don't know. And I hate to admit it, but I need your help. We need to find a way out, but Princy here is an idiot. That leaves you and me to find a way out. Now c'mon, we should keep moving." Ling and I nodded and began to follow Fullmetal. I was frankly surprised he was able to be so calm and take charge like that, and I was glad. Someone needed to lead, and it certainly wasn't going to be me. I'm a horrible leader.

Ling and I followed Ed for what seemed like days. As we went, I saw a lot of partially destroy building and more than a few skeletons, but I never saw the same thing twice. I knew for certain we weren't going in circles, yet we never found any sort of wall or end to the darkness. Even with Ed and Ling, I began to feel hopelessly lost and alone again.

I think I started to hallucinate after a while. I began picturing a grand scheme where I was a princess trapped in a tower and Scar was a prince coming to save me. At one point I almost burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the idea, and at another point I mentally slapped myself for not focusing on finding a way out on my own.

As my dream became more elaborate, I was beginning to realize how starving I was, and exhausted. I was keeping up with Ed fairly well, but Ling was falling far behind. "C'mon, Princy," Ed called back, but Ling just shook his head and collapsed. I ran back to him and tried to help him stand, but he shook his head again and told me to leave him behind.

Ed growled in frustration and slung Ling over his shoulder. "What are you doing?" Ling asked, "Just leave me, you have someone waiting for you!"

"Yeah, and the last thing I want to do is die here with you, but you have someone waiting for you too. And you, Alison, so c'mon! We have to keeping going," Ed replied. He shifted Ling so we could sling his arms over our shoulders to carry him. We made it a few steps before Ed tripped over a stone and fell, taking us with him.

We managed to pull ourselves onto a dry stone platform nearby, but then we just fell on our backs panting. We all felt like we could die. My stomach growled loudly, and I remembered I had a few packs of crackers. The boys' eyes brightened dramatically when I pulled them out. It wasn't much, but I knew I felt much better after eating. We were about to restart our search for an exit, but we were stopped by Envy.

I prepared for a fight and Ling glared, but Ed immediately begged for a way out. Ling called him weak while Envy told me there was no way out. "Once swallowed by Gluttony, you may as well consider yourself dead."

"So, we really are in Gluttony's stomach?" I asked the Homunculus. He debated for a few moments, not sure himself how to answer, before saying, "We are, but at the same time we aren't. Ed should be able to explain it better."

Ed, who been bickering with Ling while Envy and I talked, now nodded. "Yeah, I thought this place was familiar when I first got here, but now I'm positive. This place feels exactly the same, but it looks way different. The Doors of Truth." Envy nodded. He went on to say that this place was actually supposed to be a copy of the Doors of Truth, but it was a failure.

"So now we're stuck here until we die. There is no way out," Envy finished. My heart stopped for a moment, frozen by the weight of his words. _I'm going to die down here_, I thought. My mind raced with thoughts of everything I would be able to do anymore. I thought of Lieu, and couldn't think of anyone who'd look after him. I thought of May, and how I'd promised her I'd help in her search for immortality. I thought of Yoki, but immediately forgot about him. Then I thought of Mustang, and how I'd promised to help him become Fuehrer. I'd promised help to so many people, but I'd never be able to see any of them again. Once again, I almost started to cry.

And my tears spilled when I thought of Scar. I couldn't explain why, but the thought of never seeing him again was more painful than anything I'd ever experienced before. An overwhelming desire to just see him again came over me and I thought I would fall into a fit of sobbing. But I remained silent as Ed and Ling argued with Envy.

At one point Ed detached himself from the argument and began muttering. He was trying to figure out what was going on in Amestris. Envy had told him the Fuehrer was indeed a Homunculus, but he was not the one called Father. I hadn't really been paying attention, at least not until Ed mentioned Ishval.

Rhetorically, Ed asked himself if the massacre could be related to whatever was being planned. Envy had heard him though, and smiled wickedly as he remembered the war. He asked Ed if he knew who the war started.

"An officer accidentally shot a child," Ed told Envy. The Homunculus smiled again and said that he had been the officer who shot the child. I stared ahead, momentarily confused, but I could feel anger growing inside me. Ed immediately flew into a rage. He ranted about everything that the war had caused. He mentioned Scar, and I lost control.

"You!" I screamed, "It's your fault!" I lunched for Envy and smacked my fist hard against his cheek. But he didn't move an inch. He didn't even flinch.

"You want to fight?" he sneered. He glared at him in hate and bitterness, then reached out and grabbed a metal pipe that I'd noticed earlier. I ran forward again and used the pipe as if it were a sword.

"Because of you," I cried, "Because of you Daein died, Scar lost everything, so many families, so many children," I couldn't finish the thought. As I spoke, I continuously battered Envy. Soon, he needed to start moving and dodging so he could avoid life-threatening injuries. Homunculi weren't immortal, and we both knew it.

I was about to land a strike straight to Envy's neck, but he reached out and grabbed my pipe. With the other hand he grabbed my wrist. "That's enough of you," he growled and pushed me back. I would have caught myself easily, but my foot landed on a curved stone and I fell awkwardly. Most of my weight landed on my left hand. I heard a disturbing crack as pain shot through my left arm. I screamed.

Ed and Ling jumped in front of me. Envy laughed and said, "Very brave, but since we're all doomed anyway, why don't I show you a glimpse of Hell?" His form shifted as he grew larger and larger. He became a hideous, almost lizard-like being. Hundreds of faces covered his neck and shoulders. Each face was speaking at once creating a melancholy symphony that truly sounded as if it had come straight from Hell. I've never seen anything more terrifying in my life.

He lashed out, striking Ed with his tail and crushing Ling under one of his giant claws. I just barely managed to escape being crushed with another claw. With my wrist broken I knew it would be hard to fight, but I was at least right handed so I wasn't completely defenseless. I was still wearing my inscribed gloves, so I concentrated on my surrounding. For the first time, I realized I was surrounded by a sea of blood.

I don't know how I could have possibly missed that until now, but when I did realize it, I nearly gagged. I kept calm somehow, and returned to focusing on a clear plan to defeat Envy. Certain elements in blood can be added to the air to create bigger and more damaging explosions, so I took advantage of that. I laced Envy's leg, the one crushing Ling, with imperceptible pockets of explosive gas.

Using iron from the blood, I filled the pockets with iron particles. These would be perfect for attracting lightning. While I worked, Ed was doing his best to draw Envy away from me and free Ling, but he was having a great deal of trouble. Once I had more than enough pockets and charges of lightning, I yelled, "Move!" Ed looked at me, then ran for cover. He didn't know what would happen, but it's a good idea in general to move when someone who specializes in explosions tells you to move.

"Hey wait! What about me!" Ling cried just before the explosions went off. I was cautious though, and made sure earlier that none would be close enough to do any real harm to Ling.

Envy reared back, releasing Ling. But while that part of my plan had been successful, Envy didn't appear to be hurt at all. But he was surprised. Ed took this opportunity to counterattack, as did Ling. However, the three of us were soon overpowered by Envy's giant, strong form. In only a few minutes, we had suffered many injuries. A few of my ribs were broken, and I had a burning cut along my right arm and leg.

In a last ditch effort, I had Ed transmute a sword for Ling and a kusarigama (a sickle attached to a metal chain) for me. Crafting a blade out of his metal arm, Ed armed himself as well. I instructed the boys to flank Envy while I lured him between them. Ling however objected, saying it was impossible to fight with a kusarigama one-handed. I wrapped the weighted end of the chain around my left wrist and, although it hurt like hell, I easily used the weapon.

I threw the kusarigama at Envy. Because of his large size, it was impossible for him to dodge the fast moving sickle. I caught the side of one of his ears. I tugged hard, but the blade didn't come free. _Perfect_, I thought. I pulled again, harder, and the Homunculus growled in pain. He charged at me with incredible speed.

I wrapped more of the chain around my wrist and started running around Envy. Once I built up enough speed, I jumped and used the shorter chain to pull myself onto his back. I yanked my kusarigama free, but then I noticed the faces surrounding Envy's neck.

Each one was speaking at once, but unlike what I had at first thought, they were speaking coherently. One voice wanted to play, while another just wanted me to kill it. Hearing so much pain and agony drove me to my knees. Each voice was a soul, a person, forever trapped inside Envy. An irresistible urge to free each and every one came over me, but I also knew I couldn't help a single soul. At the same time, Ed was having the same conflict, but Ling caught our attention and brought us back to reality.

"This entire thing is a monster?" he yelled. I knew he was right, but that didn't make anything easier, for Ed or me. And this time, Envy took advantage of our distraction.

He turned and flung his tail at Ed, knocking him into a half destroyed wall. His movement caused me to fall at least two stories off of the monster's back. I landed in a particularly deep part of the sea, but my leg caught a rock on the way down. Pain shot through my calf, but I knew it wasn't a bad break. Still, I could barely stand, let alone walk.

Ling and Ed weren't in any better shape. _We're going to die,_ I thought as Ed took one final blow from Envy. He fell to the ground unmoving. Ling and I screamed for him to wake up. I tried desperately, but I couldn't reach him before Envy did.

The Homunculus kneeled like he was going to eat Ed, but instead for of the faces emerged from Envy's mouth like a grotesque tongue. Arms wrapped around Ed and dragged him up. I watched in horror as he disappeared behind the monster's teeth. So several agonizing moments, I thought Ed had been killed.

But then, his automail leg burst from Envy's mouth, knocking on of his teeth into the abyss surrounding us. "I know how to get out of here. But I'm gonna need your help, Envy." Ed began to explain how we could probably escape through the real Doors of Truth. Ling was confused as usual, but because Al had explained what happened to the boys' mother, and because of my own research, I knew exactly what Ed meant.

"Ed you can't," I said, "how are you going to pay the toll?"

"That's why I need Envy," he explained. He said he could use the Philosopher's Stone inside of Envy to override the toll. And it worked. Ling had to bind Ed's wrist, which had been broken, and I had to help Ed draw a transmutation circle, but in the end we were freed.

But before we left, Ed asked Envy one last question. Ed said he'd recognized a piece of the ruins around us as being from the lost city of Xerxes. Ed theorized the ruins had been used, or rather destroyed, to create Envy. I failed to understand how this could be possible, but Envy smiled and said Ed was absolutely correct.

Rage and empathy shot through me as I realized hundreds of people had died to become Envy. I was more than tempted to completely refuse using Ed's method escape only because it required Envy's help. But this time, reason won out. I knew there was no other way I could escape from this place. Tearfully, I resigned to accepting Envy's help.

Ed explained to Ling he would reconstruct the four of us using human transmutation. This would open the real Doors of Truth and lead us to freedom. Ling was concerned about the reconstruction part, but Ed assured he would try to change anything; he'd really only be moving us from one place to another.

"And if you mess up?" Ling asked, skepticism clear on his face.

"A rebound would occur, but I'd be the only one effected. You three will be fine," Ed replied.

"Ed, let me do the transmutation," I said suddenly, "you're just a child, you shouldn't risk your life like that. I know enough about human transmutation to do this." But Ed refused.

"No, you've never actually tried human transmutation, though. There's a far greater chance of me succeeding than you." While I knew what he said was true, I also knew there was more to it that he wouldn't admit. He didn't trust me. But I guess I should have expected this.

"But Alison," Ed said quietly, "if anything happens to me, you have to warn everyone that a catastrophe is about to strike Amerstris."

_Catastrophe? That must be what Mustang's been worried about,_ I thought. But I didn't asked about, instead I said, "No Ed, you're going to tell everyone yourself." He smiled at me and nodded. Then he turned to Envy and started the transmutation.

He clapped his hands together and placed his palms in the middle of the circle we had drawn. Pillars of light grew out of the five points of the circle and slowly spread to form a giant ring. The rim of the ring grew steadily wider until the four of us were fully engulfed. As I watched, my body was being broken down. It didn't hurt, but it was terrifying. This site didn't last long, though, because the light soon became far too bright for me to see anything. I closed my eyes tight against the glare.

When I opened them, everything appeared black. But my vision slowly returned to normal, and the first thing I saw was Scar looking straight back at me. He looked confused at first, but then he looked completely…relieved? Almost before I could react, his arms were around me.

"Alison…you're alive," he whispered softly. My first thought was of complete confusion, but that thought faded as soon as it came. For the first time in what felt like years, I felt safe. I felt completely and utterly safe. I fully believed as long as Scar was near me, I couldn't be hurt. With his arms around me, I was invincible. And, I knew I wasn't alone anymore. The nightmare was finally over. ***

(Author's Note: It's done! Thank Holy sweet Jesus HALLELUJAH! I finally finished the chapter. Actually, I would have finished earlier if I had rewritten it so many times, gotten the Black Screen of Death a million time son my Mac, rewritten it a few more times, and changing the ending every five minutes… But I finally got to use a kusarigama ^^

And I am never going to a beach again! I came back from Florida on Saturday and I'm still in agonizing pain! Sun, why must you hate me! This is the second worst sunburn I've ever had! [the worst being the one I got the first time I went to Ocean City, Maryland…oww] I really need to listen to my self and STOP going out in the sun. But on the bright side, I saw a guy who looked just like Scar in SeaWorld! Well, I only saw the back of him, and he disappeared before I could at least take a picture of him, but I swear he looked just like him! He even had the tattoo! But it was on the wrong arm -_- Sadly, after that first time, I never saw him again [despite literally going through SeaWorld at least a dozen times])


	19. Father

Light exploded from within Gluttony. Once the last glare faded, everyone was silent as they watched in confusion. Even the Homunculi leader, Father, was unsure of what was occurring. A large, hideous figure burst out of the light emanating from Gluttony. Following this beast were three hurt and frightened individuals. But throughout this chaos, Scar saw only one thing. Out of the blaze, Alison had appeared.

He immediately felt the ice melt around his heart as every bit of his anger fading in one short moment. It later occurred to him he'd never once left a fit of rage so quickly before that day. But during that moment, his thoughts were solely focused on the trembling woman standing in a complete daze.

She turned her head and caught his eye. Fear was prominent in her polished sapphire eyes, but as he approached it faded quickly. It never occurred to him she might be angry or upset over the Rockbells' deaths; he only wanted to be absolutely sure she was truly alive.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She whimpered quietly, and Scar realized she was severely hurt. She was covered in blood and her face was streaked with tears. Even now, her eyes were wet. "Don't leave me alone," she begged in a voice that was nearly sobbing. Scar felt his heart clench as he tried to think of what could have possibly happened to her. "I won't," he said.

Part of him wanted to stand holding her forever, but then Envy's gigantic tail came crashing down. Before either of then could even think, Scar had carried Alison far from the fight. Surprise filled her eyes when she realized they had moved, but he wasn't focused on her at the moment. His own eyes were on Envy, and Father.

At that moment, Father had just learned the Elric brothers' identities. He exclaimed that they were 'precious sacrifices' and then went on to repair Al's armor and mend Ed's injuries. Scar felt uneasy at seeing the obvious display of alchemy, but Alison seemed frightened by the show.

"H-how did you do that?" she asked in a voice held up by fear alone, "There's no transmutation circle, but you didn't clap your hands like Ed. How did you do that?"

Instead of answering, Father simply looked at her in silence. Finally he said, "You, are you that Aurora Alchemist? Yes, you could very well be a sacrifice as well…" he trailed off. "But not in that state. Come, I will heal your injuries." But Alison had no intention of going even one step closer to Father. In fact, she took as step back, but she stepped on her broken leg and fell.

Scar immediately stood tall in front of her, making it obvious no one was going to get close to her. Father was confused for a moment, but then remembered both her face and the Elrics' at his display of alchemy. He sighed in resignation deciding they would never understand him.

Regardless, he was irritated at the presence of useless humans. And Xingese foreigners, he had noticed May long ago, and the Ishvalan were invading his home. He wanted them to leave. Envy was still in his true form, so he decided to take advantage of the rare occurrence. "Envy! Gluttony! Leave the Elrics and Aurora, as for the rest, do as you please."

Gluttony smiled wickedly at the chance to eat so much, and Envy smiled inwardly and the chance to crush others with his massive body. Both Homunculi rushed towards their next three victims. But Scar and the others weren't going to sit around and do nothing.

May had finally entered the room and immediately blocked Gluttony's strike at Scar. Envy wasted no time in going after Ling. Because he was still heavily injured from his last fight, the Xingese man was at a clear disadvantage. Ed and Al both knew they'd feel guilty later if they didn't help him, so they also rejoined the fight.

Father sighed. The last thing he needed was for his sacrificed to be killed, but if they chose to fight he wouldn't stop them. _Besides,_ he thought, _I have many more possible sacrifices. _

However, he did want to end things quickly. Fighting simply annoyed him. Alchemy was clearly helping all but Ling, who couldn't use it. Even Alison had drawn simple circles around herself since her gloves had been ruined in the sea of blood. Actually, her particular skills were become more and more of a problem. Every time Envy or Gluttony tried to move they'd set off a serious of explosions, but the Aurora Alchemist used every technique she knew to focus the blasts on her enemies and shield her friends. Father decided he would use a technique of his own to cancel out their use of alchemy and save himself from his growing headache.

Alison noticed the change first. Suddenly, her explosions grew much smaller. Ed noticed next when he tried to convert his automail arm into a blade. Lastly, Al noticed when he tried to transmute some spikes from the ground to attack Envy. The three Amestrians look at each other in confusion, but then were drawn back into the fight. Fortunately, much to everyone's, even Father's, confusion May and Scar could still use their own alchemy. May brought up giant fist to push Envy away from the Elrics, and Scar blew apart Gluttony's insides to keep him away from Alison. But due to the Homunculi's regeneration, neither attack did any damage.

Now that Alison and the Elrics had this disadvantage, everyone was certain this would be a good time to get up and leave. Scar turned to May, "Her left leg is broken, fix it," he said in a voice that told May she needed to hurry. So she did.

She threw down five kunai around Alison's broken left leg and immediately used her Alkahestry to mend it. Meanwhile, Scar fought off Gluttony while the other three remained Envy's opponents.

Alison stood slowly, but the pain had completely left her leg. She smiled at May's amazing ability. Now that she could move properly, she used the kusarigama she still had wrapped around her broken wrist to help Scar beat back Gluttony. She regretted not being able to use the chain, but there was little she could do about it.

When the sickle flew past Scar, he turned to see Alison standing tall. She still looked like she was in a great deal of pain, but that didn't appear to be slowing her down at all. In fact, when May insisted on healing her other injuries, Alison flatly refused help and ran over to back up Scar. Besides, she wanted to be closer to Gluttony. The closer she was, the more of the chain she could use.

And she used it effectively. She wrapped the chain around the Homunculus to hold him in place while Scar attacked again. Gluttony fell to his knees while Alison pulled expertly at the kusarigama to unravel it and pull the sickle to cut across the Homunculus.

He staggered back and fell again. He seemed to be getting exhausted so Scar thought it would be best if he took Alison and May and left. But the Elrics and Ling were having far more trouble dealing with Envy.

Ed decided he wanted some helping in his battle, so he thought enlisting Scar wouldn't be a bad option. For a moment, he was almost glad he was fighting Envy and not Gluttony, or else his plan would never work.

"Scar!" the boy called, "Do you want to know the truth about Ishval!" Immediately, Scar's head snapped up and focused on the elder Elric. Alison followed suit as she realized exactly what Ed had planned. She tried to stop him, but before she could he continued, "The one who shot that child was really Envy disguised as a soldier. The Homunculi started that war!"

Scar's jaw tensed and his fists clenched. Anger swept through him like a hurricane as he began to approach Envy. "Answer me!" he called to Envy, "Why did you start that war that killed so many innocent people? Depending on your answer I will send you-" Scar was suddenly interrupted by Gluttony appearing directly behind him. But with yet another normally lethal blow, Scar pushed Gluttony back down. "No, I won't send you to heaven where my countrymen reside. I'm going to send you into the deepest darkest pits of Hell!"

Seeing that Father was the true leader here, Scar completely bypassed Envy and went for the seemingly human man. But before he could get close, the leader came to him. "Why can you use alchemy here?" he asked. Scar took a step back in surprise, and instead of answering he attacked.

But his attack did nothing. Even why he used it on Gluttony, the effects showed themselves. But this man was completely unharmed. Not a drop of blood showed anywhere, and he didn't appear to be hurting at all. Instead, he seemed to duplicate the attack and send it right back at Scar.

The Ishvalan jumped back several feet to get away from the leader. Blood poured down his right arm, but it didn't appear to be too severely injured. Still, he wanted to know just how that had been possible.

Alison and May were both just as confused. The girls ran to help the Ishvalan, but Gluttony had returned once again. He ignored Alison and went straight for May yelling, "Young girl!" His giant fist caught May in the ribs and sent her flying against an upturned piece of the floor a few feet behind her. Alison stood torn between helping her and stopping Scar. Thankfully, Al came to the younger girl's aid. He beat back Gluttony skillfully and took the girl into his arms. He ran for the exit while Alison ran for Scar.

"Scar!" she cried, "We have to go now!" He looked at her and saw the injuries she had sustained. He wanted to finally take revenge, but he knew she needed to get far from here fast, so he ran back to her.

Ed started to leave as well, but Ling wasn't ready yet. "Wait, Homunculus!" he called to Father, "You have what I need, and I won't leave until I get it. Give me the Philosopher's Stone." Envy laughed at his arrogance, but Father could see the possibilities.

"Alright," the leader said, "I'll give you what you want. Envy, hold him still." The Homunculus saw what his Father had planned and immediately took action. Ed tried to help his friend, but he was easily batted away. Father approached holding a blood red, jelly-like substance in his hand. He poured the substance in a cut on Ling's face and he began to cry out in pain.

Alison wanted to help him, but Scar was pulling her away. "You can't help him!" the Ishvalan snapped. She wanted to protest, but some instinct told her he was right.

When the two of them got close to the exit, Lieu ran from his hiding spot and jumped onto Alison's shoulders. "Hey you," she said soothingly to the terrified kitten.

As she took care of the cat, Scar ran ahead to make sure the path was clear. He saw Alphonse Elric holding May while trying to fight off a group of chimeras. Needless to say, his attempts weren't too successful. Scar didn't have any obligation to help the younger Elric, but he did owe May for helping Alison.

He quickly eliminated three chimeras that were surrounding Al. The Elric cried out in surprise, but then realized he was the best hope May had of leaving this place. "Scar, take this girl and run!" he begged.

"You're letting me escape?" the Ishvalan asked skeptically.

"Don't get me wrong," Al replied, "I'd love to take you down right now. But I can't use Alchemy and you can. This girl needs help, and though it sickens me to say it, you're the only one how can get her out of here."

Scar looked down at his blood-covered right arm, "No," he said, "in my current state, I'll barely be able to protect myself."

"That's for damn sure," Alison said as she ran her kusarigama through a chimera Scar had failed to notice. "Al, take May. We'll clear a path." Alison sounded confident, but Al was still unsure. He didn't want to except help from Scar, but he wanted to trust Alison. He decided help May was really more important than any of his preferences. He nodded to show Alison he was ready to go.

She nodded back and threw her weapon at the encroaching horde of chimeras. Most of them fell in just one swing. Behind them, Gluttony and Envy were getting closer. Scar blew apart a pipe hanging overhead and dust filled the air, making it almost impossible to see. Envy laughed, saying a simple diversion like this was never going to stop him.

But Alison saw immediately what Scar really had planned. The dust in the air was made of iron, which was a natural attractant for lightning. She drew two transmutation circles as fast as she could, then launched a giant cloud of lightning at the Homunculi. The effect was astonishing. Lightning bolts caught the iron and bounced of it, creating a chain like effect. It took more than five minutes for the sparks to finally die down.

Neither Alison nor Scar had even thought that would happen, but both were glad to be given this chance to get away. They ran after Al down a long corridor. Alison had no idea where she was going, but the others did. They were fairly close to the exit when they passed a side corridor filled with chimera waiting to rip them apart.

Al started to help fight them off, but Alison turned to him, "No, you just go. I told you we'd clear a path, you just need to get her out." He tried to protest, but she cut him off saying, "Just go. We can't leave yet anyway, there's still something we need to know."

Though it was impossible to read Al's expression, it was obvious he didn't want to leave Alison alone with Scar. But he knew May needed more help than she did, so he followed orders and left.

"Thank goodness they got away," Alison sighed as soon as Al was out of earshot, "I'm about done." She smiled, but Scar new she was afraid. Though she hid it well. "Go through that vent, I'll slow down this horde," she instructed. Scar turned to the vent she pointed out. It was more than large enough for them to crawl through one at a time. Scar almost laughed. Alison had said repeatedly she wasn't a leader and that she hated being in charge. But she was thrown into a fight beaten almost to death and had managed to help both May and him escape. Regardless of what she said, Scar thought she'd make an excellent leader or even a first class general.

He followed her instructions and began pulling the cover off the vent. While he did that, Alison went to work clearing out to chimeras. She drew a transmutation circle that matched the tattoos along Scar's right arm. Using it, she decomposed every iron pipe in the tunnel surrounding the chimeras. She drew a second transmutation circle of her own design and launched clouds of differing air pressure into the air above the chimeras. The clouds touched and dozens of sparks shot out towards the scattered iron. The effect was the same as it had been before, but this time there was much more iron in the air. The lightning bounced around with far greater force than before, not even starting to slow even after more than 10 minutes had passed.

Before the first strike had hit the ground, Alison was following Scar through the vent. They went in silence, but both knew it wouldn't last. Alison wanted to hear the truth from him, and he had something he desperately wanted to say as well.

"Scar, please-" Alison started, but he interrupted her.

"Alison, just listen. Yes, ten years ago I killed those doctors. I won't come up with some excuse why, I just killed two doctors who had only helped me and my people." Silence returned for several minutes while Alison thought of how to respond. Scar focused on the path ahead, hoping she wouldn't press him for more of an explanation.

In truth, he couldn't remember why he had killed those doctors, but if he told her that she would begin making up reasons that would blame their murder on anyone else. And he didn't want her to do that. He didn't want her to forgive him; he knew how close she had been to those doctors, but he knew she would forgive him simply because she believed it would please him, and Alison always tried her hardest to please everyone around her.

"Are you sure? That there's no reason, I mean," Alison asked softly. Her voice sounded upset, but there was something in it that told Scar she wanted to find any reason not to blame him for the Rockbells' deaths.

"Don't forgive me," he replied bluntly. Alison gasped slightly at his sudden harshness. "I don't deserve your forgiveness," he finished in a softer tone. She was about to argue against his last statement, but then both heard a voice from below.

"Hello!" it called, "Is anyone up there?" Both froze at the voice's, definitely male, call. Scar's hand was resting over an iron grate, and through the metal he could see an older man standing alone in a room. Two chimeras were chained to a wall. Both appeared nearly starved to death, and the man was standing more than far enough out of their reach.

Alison thought she recognized the voice, but Scar had never seen this man before. He wanted to pass by and ignore the man, but blood from his right arm ran down his hand and fell to the ground far below. The man in the room saw it clearly.

"Are you hurt? Please, my name is Mauro, I'm a doctor. I can help you," he said. Though Scar was reluctant, he knew Alison needed medical help soon. She was putting on a brave face, but her breath was coming in ragged gasps and every now and then he heard her whimper in pain.

Still, he didn't want to trust someone who merely claimed to be a doctor while sitting in the middle of the headquarters of the Homunculi. He was going to simply pass this man by, but when Alison heard the man say his name, she whispered, "I've heard that name before. It's okay, he really is a doctor."

"Then why is he here?" Scar whispered back.

Alison thought for a moment then replied, "He's being kept for his abilities. He's a very accomplished alchemist. The Homunculi must what him for the same reason they want the Elrics and me." Scar looked back down at the man. He certainly didn't look dangerous, so he pried open the grate and jumped down. ***

Hearing Marcoh's voice down here felt like a blessing. I was so badly to fall asleep and forget about the pain I was in, but I knew if I did I might not wake back up. I truly had no idea why he might have been down here, but there had to be some reason. He wouldn't willingly help people like the Homunculi.

When Scar dropped down I followed right behind. My leg was healed, so I expected to land without a problem. But the jolt of hitting the ground traveled through my body into my ribs and arms. Bone rubbed against bone and I cried out and fell to my knees. I still had the kusarigama wrapped around my wrist so it helped to dull the pain there, but my ribs were raw and shattered.

I wrapped my good arm around my chest and looked up at Marcoh. "I'm hurt pretty bad," I said and tried to add in a laugh but instead I choked on some blood that had been filling one of my lungs.

"Oh, Alison…" Marcoh said slowly. "What happened to you? Did this man…" he continued, clearly thinking Scar had somehow caused my injuries.

"No, no, no, no!" I replied quickly, then paused to cough up more blood, "Actually, I'd probably be dead if not for him."

"If that is the case then, Sir, you have my deepest gratitude. Alison is one of the few people I can truly trust, but she's also one of my closest friends. Now come here and let me tend to your wounds," he said to me. Using alchemy similar to May's, he mended my arm and ribs, and sealed the gash along my arm. Once he was finished, he turned to Scar.

"Are you hurt as well? Your head appears…" the doctor started but stopped abruptly. He seemed to finally realize who Scar was. Fear and confusion crossed his face, but it was replaced soon after by faint spark of hope. "Please…kill me."

(Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY I took this long! I've had the WORST case of writer's block for the past two weeks… :,( I think it's finally starting to go away though so YAAY! AND! Next chapter I'm going to fully (probably) explain Alison's relationship with Scar's brother!

Oh, and does anyone know any good books about thieves or assassins? Preferably set around the dark ages or medieval times. I suddenly want to read something but I'm not sure what…)


	20. Ishval

(Author's Note: AAAAHH! I am taking forever to get these chapters written… I could list a whole crap load of reason why, but that would just take more time o.O Anyway, I actually made this chapter unexpectedly long. And sad. I REALLY didn't like writing this…and I was reading this part in the manga so :,( And I just noticed I gave Scar's brother a name, but I never gave Scar a name (not counting _Scar_). Now that I think about it, I really can't think of a good name. Oh well)

"W-what are you saying?" I asked quickly. A quick glance at Scar told me he was just as confused as I was.

"The Homunculi are keeping me here so…so I can perform more research for them. And to make sure I help them, they've taken an entire village hostage. Please, you have to help me," Marcoh begged. He'd gone down to his hands and knees, so I kneeled beside him. I wanted to help him, but there was no way I could hurt him.

I was worried Scar might do something, but instead he said, "Do you really think someone who's had his people obliterated would help save one village?" I wanted to protest against his words, but what was I supposed to say? And even if I did have something to say, I'd only be hurting Marcoh.

"Please," the doctor said again, "My name is Tim Marcoh. I…I was part of an experiment ten years ago. We made Philosopher's stones using…using Ishvalan prisoners as ingredients. I am you enemy, please kill me. If I refuse the Homunculi, or commit suicide, they will harm that village."

Rage flood through Scar, and I thought he would kill Marcoh. He rushed forward, and I was about to try and stop him, but instead of attacking with his right arm, he grabbed Marcoh with his left. "I still haven't heard anything about Ishval!," growled Scar, "Tell me everything you know, before this right arm destroys you."

Marcoh looked terrified. His eyes flicked over towards me, so I softly added, "Please, Marcoh. I thought I knew everything about that war, but so much has been happening lately, and I feel like I don't know anything anymore. I just…I just want to know why Daein had to die," I finished in a whisper almost too quiet to hear.

Marcoh nodded, and began to relate what he knew of the war. While he spoke, my mind became clouded with memories. I was brought back to just before the massacre. To only days before Daein had been killed.

Ten Years Ago:

One of my favorite things about Ishval was the sun. It was always there, beating down on the pale sands and tan people. When I was out in that heat, I felt alive and happy. But not even that sun made me as happy as I was when I saw Daein.

In the days before I last saw him, he was doing his usual work on Alchemy. He sat in the building just for his work, with papers and books were scattered around him. His glasses were perched high on his nose and sweat covered his forehead as he concentrated. I was feeling mischievous, so I decided to distract him for a bit.

He was so deep in thought he didn't notice me sneak into the tent and crawl behind him. I placed my hands over his eyes and whispered, "Guess who?"

Daein chuckled and replied, "Kissara?"

"No, silly!" I replied and laughed, "Grandma left yesterday." Kissara had raised me after my father died, and even though we weren't related I insisted on calling her 'Grandma'. Like everyone else that had lived here, she was Ishvalan. Actually, it was mostly because of her that I became such good friends with Daein and his family. Well, everyone except his brother.

Daein had turned to face me and his lips brushed mine briefly. He smiled wide and wrapped his arms around me. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I wanted to see you," I told him. He smiled wider and kissed me again. "Is there anything I can help with?" I asked when we pulled apart.

His eyes lit up at my words. He had so much he wanted to get done, but not nearly enough time. "Yeah! Look at these patterns." He showed me detailed transmutation circles and formulas. Overall, there were clearly two sets of diagrams. He pointed to one and explained, "These formulas combine the strongest points of both Alchemy and Xingese Alkahestry. I designed them to be easily made into tattoos. Can you help me put the designs on my arms?"

"Daein, these are amazing! Of course I'll help." He pulled out a simple tattoo gun and some ink. For the next hour or so we went to work tracing, then tattooing the designs onto his arms. As we went, he explained more about them. For example, both sets were needed for proper transmutation. One set deconstructed matter, while the other reconstructed it to the user's will. Basically, the designs allowed one to use alchemy without having to draw transmutation circles.

When we were nearly finished with his second arm, his brother walked into the building. "Brother, what is this?" he snapped. "A war is being fought yet you still find time for this blasphemy!" Rage dominated Daein's brother's face, but Daein himself remained calm.

"What I am doing is not blasphemy. I am simply finding a way for our people to live in peace. Xingese Alchemy, Alkahestry, has a property similar to Ishvala's guidance. If more Amestrians learn about these properties, then maybe this war will end," Daein replied hopefully.

"This war will only end when one side is annihilated. You are just wasting time and resources. And _you_," his brother said as he turned to glare furiously at me, "should not be here. Leave." Following his own instructions, he turned and walked from the building.

"He really does hate me, doesn't he?" I asked Daein. I felt terrible that his brother hated me. I tried so hard to help his people, but he rarely even looked at me. At first I took his attitude as a challenge, I'd purposely try to get under his skin. Maybe I thought the more I just talked to him, the more he'd come to like me. I don't know, but it never worked. Or at least, I thought it didn't.

"I don't think so. I think," Daein replied, "he just doesn't want to admit not all Amestrians are evil."

"He won't even tell me his name! Or say mine, now that I think about it." Daein laughed at my exasperated expression and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"Oh, don't worry about it. He's just stubborn. And if you really want to know his name, I could tell you."

"No, he'll just get mad at you. Now c'mon, we need to finish your tattoos. I promised to help the Rockbells later today." We finished the last of the tattoo is less than half an hour. With a quick kiss good bye, I was off to help out Urey and Sara.

They were staying in a larger building about a twenty minute walk away from where I had been. On the way there I was greeted with both glares and smiles, but no one was nearly as angry as Daein's brother always was. I shook my head at when Daein had said. How could he not hate me?

Regardless, once I arrived at the Rockbells' makeshift hospital, all my thoughts turned to patients and how best to help them. As soon as I arrived Urey's face took on a look of overjoyed relief and lead me to an Amestrian man who's leg had been shot. We didn't have enough anesthesia to knock him out, so I had to perform surgery using a bottle of whiskey as a painkiller. The man was clearly in pain, but he hid it well. Afterwards, I thanked him more than he thanked me.

He fell asleep soon after, so Sara asked me to care for a young Ishvalan girl. She was very sick, but we barely had anykind of medicines. I knew the plants and herbs around here far better than either of the Rockbells, so Sara hoped I'd be able to help the young girl. I put a damp cloth on her forehead to keep the fever down, then I left to find herbs that would reduce her fever further and help with her cough.

When I came back she was struggling to breath. I expected something like this to happen though, so I'd also picked the petals from a flower that would open her airways instantly. It worked perfectly so I went ahead and treated her for the fever and cough. Once they were under control, the best thing for her was to just sleep, so I gave her a strong tea laced with relaxing herbs. She was fast asleep after barely two sips.

The next two hours followed just like the first. I'd treat Amestrians and Ishvalans alike. The sun had set long before the Rockbells convinced me I needed to go home and rest. There were still far too many patients that needed to be helped, but I had to admit I was so tired I couldn't think straight. Sara all but shoved me out the door before I finally left.

I decided I'd visit Daein one more time before going home, but when I got back to his house, not the building his research was in, I found him fast asleep. His mother said he'd been staying up all night for the past few days, so I left him alone. He needed the sleep. His mother tried to convince me to stay there for the night, but I told her I needed to get back to work tomorrow. If I stayed down here, I'd never make it back in time and Mustang would be furious. Again.

I knew a shuttle was running soldiers back and forth and though I knew I'd hate being around people who'd been fighting, there was no other way I'd get back home in time. I changed into my military uniform and headed for the shuttle. But before I got there, Daein's brother stopped me.

"I've heard rumors. State Alchemists will be called to fight," he told me. I looked at him in surprise for a moment, but then set my face with a stoic expression.

"I know," I told him. The night was dim, there was no moon, so I had a difficult time seeing his own expression. But from the tone in his voice I knew he was glaring at me.

"You will be forced to fight," he continued. Though I never thought much of it, I now remember hearing a strange mix of emotions hidden under the obvious anger in his voice. He sounded annoyed, but at the same time regretful. It was almost as if he was saying he expected me to fight against him, but he direly wanted me to fight with him.

"I know," I said again, now looking down in defeat. "But…I don't want to fight. I don't even know if I can." I waited for him to add something, anything, to what I said. But he just turned and walked away. After a few steps he stopped. I thought I heard him say something, but I couldn't hear it. I called out to him, asking him what he said, but he started walking again. I wouldn't see him again for ten long years. ***

"I don't even know if I can," Daein's brother heard Alison say. In the dim light he could just make out her small form, much less see the look on her face. But he knew she was looking down and that her eyes appeared to be about to fill with tears. He knew, because whenever she was upset her face fell and tears were not far off. He knew her so well, and yet he had always treated her like an enemy.

Thinking of the way she must have looked, he turned away and headed off. But before he took three steps, his thoughts had been consumed with the thought of Alison fighting. She was gentle, kind. She wasn't a fighter; she wasn't a soldier. He wanted to let her know that, he wanted to make sure she never had to even touch a gun. But what could he do? If he told her to stay, everyone would only get suspicious of his sudden interest. He vaguely came up with a plan to kidnap her, but he decided that would only cause problems for both sides.

In exasperation he muttered, "She shouldn't even be near the fighting." He heard Alison ask what he'd said, but he ignored her and began walking away again. He knew if he stayed he'd only insist on her staying.

So he just went home. Daein was still fast asleep by the time he got there, and now his parents were as well. Shortly after arriving, he was also fast asleep. ***

Meanwhile, in Research Laboratory 5, in Central City, a small group of scientists were working on a very powerful, very cruel new weapon. A pedestal stood in the center of a large room. A simple yet giant transmutation circle was drawn around the pedestal. The transmutation formula consisted of a circle outlining a pentagon that outlined a circle that outlined another pentagon. At eight points around the outer two layers of the formula sat thirteen bound Ishvalans.

Dr. Marcoh walked into the room slowly. He knew what he had to do, but that didn't mean that this was going to be easy. He walked up to the pedestal and held his hands over it. He focused on the energy coursing through the room and began the ritual. The Ishvalans began crying out in pain as a bright red light filled the room. Marcoh shuddered at the noise, but didn't, couldn't, stop the ritual.

As the light died, a blood red substance began forming above the pedestal. Marcoh caught it in his hands and cringed. Everything he believed told him this was wrong. Everything he knew told him this would only lead to more death and destruction. But his hands were tied and his legs shackled. He had no choice.

In the days to follow, more Philosopher's Stones would be made and used. The war in Ishval would come to an end, but not before thousands of people were killed. ***

The first evidence of the Stones' arrival came when earth shattering explosions appeared in the dead of night. Just before the first shot shook the land, Daein had been conducting further studies on Amestrian alchemy. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was. He felt like he was missing one small fact. He felt like if he had one more puzzle piece, he'd know the secret. He'd planned on asking Alison about it, but then he received a letter from Kissara, Alison's adoptive grandmother.

However, he didn't have time to worry about her at that moment. His parents and little brother needed to escape. He gathered up as many books and scrolls as he could. Turning towards the door, he ran head first into his brother.

"Forget that junk, we need to leave now!" the younger brother said.

"I can't just leave it!" Daein replied, "It's not junk, it'll save us."

"Right now, it'll only slow you down. If you take it with, you'll die."

"I won't die, now we need to hurry!" Daein snapped and ran past his brother to see to his parents. Both had already left and were about to go back for the brothers. The younger urged for the family to run. And they did, but not for long.

All around them, flames were burning and people were dying. After a particularly load scream the brothers' mother burst into tears. Daein placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. His younger brother glared.

"I told you this would happen! The Alchemists have joined the fight. Your research, what good is it doing anyone now!" he snapped.

"I can still help! I can fight back!" Daein snapped in reply.

"Fight? And what happens when Alison shows up? Will you fight her?" Daein looked at his brother in shock. This was the first time he'd ever heard him say Alison's name. But that shock quickly faded.

"I won't have to fight Alison," Daein said calmly.

"Why not? She's been gone for days. If she knew this was going to happen, she would have come here long ago. She's out there fighting!" Anger fueled by betrayal filled Daein's brother. Though he never admitted it, he had begun to believe Alison really was the exception to his view of Amestris. But she hadn't come by once since the night he talked to her. If she wasn't going to fight, she would have come to warn at least Daein. She might have even tried to fight for Daein. But she wouldn't just leave.

"She's not fighting!" Daein replied angrier than his brother and parents had ever seen him before. His younger brother took a step back in confusion. "She…she was shot. Just after she went back. I got the letter Kissara sent last night. She's not fighting."

Silence fell over the family. It was clear Daein was grieving, and though no one could have been able to tell, his brother was too. While the war hadn't stopped, the noise had faded out. After a shot time, the brothers' mother urged them to keep moving.

"Yeah, sorry Mom," Daein replied. His brother nodded, and everyone began running for the shortest exit from the city. The younger brother lead while the older reassured their parents. Soldiers tried to stop them as they ran, but not a single man could stand up to the younger brother. They were nearly out of the city before an Alchemist had caught them.

Solf J. Kimblee stood on a large building overlooking their progress. He was impressed by the Ishvalan man's ability. Several dozen men had already fallen before him, yet he didn't appear close to stopping. Kimblee decided it would be best to intervene. He held up his hands and made a building the family was heading for explode.

Daein's younger brother immediately looked up and searched for their assailant. He saw Kimblee standing, arms held out and smiling, several yards away. The brother was about to rush forward to defeat the attacker, but Daein stopped him. "Those marks on his hands are transmutation circles. This man's a State Alchemist!"

Kimblee chuckled at Daein's insight. But he did notice the tattoos along his arm. He vaguely wondered if they would be a threat, but just decided killing all of them would be the fastest and safest way to go. He clapped his hands together and placed them on the ground in front of him. Red light laced through the stone building and tore it apart in a blinding flash.

Debris flew up and fell around the family. The brothers did their best to protect their parents, but soon a large rock crashed into the younger's back. He sunk to his knees, but was soon back on his feet.

However, there was more than enough time for Kimblee to take advantage of the opening. He threw his hands up and more light began generating around the younger brother. He heard the bang, then saw darkness.

When he awoke, the earth around him was shattered. A shadow loomed over him, but it took a moment for his vision to clear. Before that could happen, he heard Daein yell, "Run!"

The haze had cleared and the younger brother could clearly see the older standing over him, protecting him. "Brother! What are you doing?"

"As soon as I'm thrown into a battle, my legs start shaking. I can barely walk straight. But you, you're a magnificent warrior priest. You're always protecting me. What a pitiful excuse for a big brother I am. But this time I'm protecting you." Daein's voice had been shaking horribly; he was obviously very frightened. But that last sentence was said with strength and courage. Daein knew he had to protect his little brother. "Oh yeah, when this is over, can you make sure Alison is alright? And tell her I'm sorry."

Fear filled the younger brother as one last explosion hit the earth. Standing just out of range of the blast, Kimblee laughed at the sight. ***

Three days earlier, back in Central, the rain was pouring down on the streets. Only the most urgent of business was being done so almost every street was completely empty. It seemed even the animals were hiding from the torrential downpour.

I was running through alleys and backstreets trying to find the quickest way home. It was well past midnight and I was soaked to the bone. I could practically feel the cold coming on.

I shouldn't have even been out, but Mustang said he needed to tell be something important. And it was. He told me about the recent order the Fuehrer had sent out. All State Alchemists were being sent to the front lines. I'd only become a State Alchemist two weeks earlier, but I'd still be sent to fight. I argued with Mustang. I demanded he find some way to keep me out of the fight, but there was nothing he could do. And I knew it.

By the time we were done talking, the rain had started and night had fallen long ago. Mustang offered to drive me home, but I knew he was just as tired as I was. I told him I'd be fine so he'd go home himself. Besides, I only lived a few blocks away anyway. So I went drudging through flooded streets and abandoned alleys.

I hadn't made it far before I was stopped in the heart of one of the darkest alleys in the city. Thinking back, it was just completely stupid of me to be walking down that street. But it's far too late to be worrying about that now.

A man dress in the generic black clothes a generic thug would wear appeared before me. He smiled wickedly and pulled out a small gun. I tried to back away, but my back was against a wall. I tried to scream, but my voice was stuck in my throat. My inscribed gloves were in the bag I carried, and if I reached for them, I knew the man would shoot me.

He walked closer and told me to hand him my bag. I slowly pulled it from my shoulder and handed it to him. I knew there was a fairly good chance he'd kill me anyway, so I went to my last resort. Once his arm was close enough, I grabbed it and threw him to the ground.

He cursed loudly but was soon back on his feet. Before he could take a step though, lights flashed on around the alley. The noise of him hitting the ground and cursing had woken up the people living nearby.

The thug cursed again and aimed his gun at me. Before I could move he'd fired. I felt a burning pain erupt near my hip. I feel to my knees and clutched the wound. The thug was long gone before anyone showed up to help. I remembered a kind looking older woman kneeling beside me. I told her to call Major Mustang, then passed out. ***

Daein slowly stood. Smoke rose from the earth around him. Everywhere he looked he saw blood and crumbled buildings. "Mother! Father!" he called. When no one answered, he slowly stumbled around looking for anyone still alive.

He heard heavy panting and ran towards the sound. What he found horrified him. His younger brother was laying in a pool of his own blood. His right arm had been lost somehow. Daein didn't know how and he didn't care. All he saw was his younger brother dying. "Brother!" he screamed.

He looked around quickly, but he couldn't see any trace of his brother's right arm. In desperation he looked down and saw his own two arms. He kneeled beside his brother and prepared to do the alchemy that would safe his life. Daein knew he'd probably die himself, but at least his brother would live.

Once the transmutation was done, Daein laid down next to his brother. He could feel himself growing weaker with every passing second. Just before he closed his eyes one last time, he whispered, "Alison…I'm sorry." ***

When Daein's brother next awoke, he was in a great deal of pain and very confused. "Mother, Father, Brother," he muttered quietly. When no one answered, he opened his eyes slowly. He saw a young Ishvalan boy running around carrying buckets and rags. He managed to catch the boys attention and asked where he was.

"You're in a hospital," the boy said. Daein's brother tried looking around some more. He noticed a heavily tattooed arm next to him. Immediately, he recognized the tattoos that Daein had on his arms. Feeling relieved to have his brother so near, he tried turning so he could see better.

But Daein wasn't sitting next to him. The arm he saw had been his own. In fear and rage, he screamed and fell into a fury. Senselessly, he killed everyone in the small building being used as a hospital, including Sara and Urey Rockbell. ***

When I awoke, it was under entirely different circumstances. The rain had stopped several days before, so the sun was coming through my window making the room I was in pleasantly warm. The first thing I saw when my eyes opened was Mustang looking at me in concern.

"Citrona? Are you awake this time?" he asked.

"This time? What do you mean?" I asked him in return. He told me that I'd woken up several times before. But I'd just say a few words then fall right back to sleep. "No, I think I'm awake this time," I told him. Mustang sighed deeply. He obviously had something he wanted to tell me, but he seemed like he couldn't bring himself to say it. "Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Alison…" Mustang muttered. He was about to say more, but then Solf J. Kimblee barged into the room.

"Oh man! That was great!" he said smiling ear to ear.

"Kimblee!" Mustang snapped.

"Just the man I was looking for. And little Alison is awake too! How ya feeling?"

"She just woke up, now leave."

"Don't see why you're so angry. I'm only here to tell you ol' Bradley's looking for you. But hey, since Alison's awake I might as well tell her the good news."

"No, you'll leave. _Now!"_

My head was snapping back and forth between the two men. I was entirely confused on why Kimblee was so happy and Mustang was so angry. "What's wrong, Mustang?" I asked.

"What's wrong?" Kimblee said stepping in front of Mustang, "Nothing's wrong. In fact, everything is great! The war's over!" Kimblee started laughing, but he didn't sound happy. He sounded insane. "That last guy I killed, he kept yelling 'Brother, brother!' So pitiable, he gave everything to save his little brother. As if anything could have saved him," Kimblee laughed again.

"Kimblee! Leave before I make you!" Mustang snapped again, this time completely furious. The Red Lotus Alchemist just shrugged and walked out of the room.

I turned to Mustang, "What was he talking about?" I asked in a shaky voice. The Major looked down, away form me. "Was he…talking about Daein?"

"Alison, I'm so sorry." Tears welled in my eyes and Mustang held me while I cried. I started babbling on about wanting to get revenge, but Mustang talked me out of that. He told me I wasn't the kind of person who could take revenge on someone. He told me I'd only upset myself. Besides, three days later, Kimblee was arrested for killing two senior officers.


	21. More Snakes

(Author's Note: I really should have done this earlier, but I normally upload in the middle of the night and tag on these notes right before I upload a chapter, so I normally forget. Anyway, I just wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlympians and SarahKD! I loved your reviews so much ^0^)

Scar's P.o.V.

Silence reigned in that underground prison cell for what seemed like eternity. All three occupants were contemplating what had just been learned. One of the chimeras growled softly, obviously annoyed by Scar and Alison's presence. The sudden break in the silence prompted Scar to begin the inevitable discussion that followed.

"We Ishvalans…were killed by these Philosopher's Stone…that were created using other Ishvalans." Scar spoke slowly, but his voice rose in volume as he rose of the bed he's been sitting on. "You bastard!" he growled before lunging at Marcoh. "You made my people kill their own families!"

Scar held the trembling doctor high above the ground. Alison, terrified she'd have to witness more death related to the Civil War, ran to Scar. "Please, don't kill him!" she cried, "I know how you feel, I do too, but…haven't enough people died already? I…I don't want to see any more blood." Alison stood trembling harder than Marcoh with her arms wrapped around her ribs. Her eyes were filled with tears, but Scar knew she was trying her hardest not to cry.

He threw Marcoh across the room and turned to the wall next to him. He screamed and punched the wall using all of his rage to strengthen the blow. Solid stone cracked like glass under his clenched fist. But he was much calmer now. Besides, there were things he wanted to know, and he wasn't positive Alison would have all the answers. Still, he'd rather ask her first than Marcoh.

"Alison, what do you know about Kimblee? And why didn't you mention him before now?" he asked.

Alison looked away from Scar. Her silvery hair was covering most of her face, but Scar could still tell she was conflicted about her answer. She sighed and said, "I don't really know much about Kimblee. No one does. He keeps to himself mostly…until there's a fight. He's…sadistic would be an understatement. But he's a skilled fighter and very cunning, so the Fuehrer demanded he be placed high in the military.

"As for why I haven't told you about him, I knew how you'd react. After he was arrested, he was placed in a high security prison. Mustang was worried about me, so he restricted my access to the prison. I'm not even supposed to go close to it. But besides that, the place is filled with armed, well-trained guards. If I'd told you about Kimblee before…then you'd want to go after him. But if you did…if you did then you'd be killed," Alison finished in an urgent whisper.

She waited for Scar to react, expecting him to be angry or annoyed with her for hiding this information for so long, but instead he just sighed. She looked up at him and saw he'd taken a few steps towards her.

He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and the look in his eyes told her he understood why she'd kept Kimblee a secret. Then he said, "There's still one more thing I want to know. Before he died, my brother talked about something being strange about Amestrian Alchemy. Most of his research is still in that building. It was left untouched for most of the War."

"Daein's research survived?" Alison asked eagerly. Her eyes lit up and a smile tugged at her lips. Scar was frankly astonished at her sudden change of heart, but then thought it really wasn't all that surprising. She'd worked so hard and spent so much time helping him put those notes together; odds are she spent the last ten years believing all their work went to waste.

In response to her question, Scar nodded and continued, "I went back several times, and each times his notes were undisturbed. I've looked through them, but many are formulas and a language I've never seen before."

"Xingese, the language is Xingese," Alison explained, "The first alchemy tome he found was from Xing, and he preferred their Alkahestry to Alchemy. I don't know the language well, and Daein kept most of his research to himself. It's an Alchemist thing. And if he thought something was wrong, he never mentioned it to me. Hmm…actually, I'd love to see those notes, but Daein wrote everything in code, like I, and most other Alchemists, do." Alison's face contorted into a mask of intense concentration as she tried to remember the code he'd used. "Dammit! I can't remember that code…Marcoh, can you read Xingese?"

Feeling as if he didn't belong in the conversation, Marcoh hadn't been paying very close attention, but he had heard his name and Alison's question. "Y-yes, a little. Well enough to help you, at least," he replied.

"Alright then, good. Scar, I know it's a lot to ask, but I want to see those notes. And I need Marcoh's help."

Scar looked down at Alison. He felt the rage inside him, he wanted to murder Dr. Marcoh. But Alison wanted his help, and Scar wanted to help Alison. He nodded in approval, but Marcoh protested, "I can't leave! If I leave, that village will be slaughtered!"

"Oh yeah…" Alison remarked. She looked around the room, then came up with an idea. "If you were killed, the Homunculi would have no reason to kill the villagers."

Both Marcoh and Scar stared in shock at her words. She smiled at their expressions, then explained her real plan, "A few years ago, I studied human transmutation. The reason why shouldn't be a surprise to either of you but I never actually used it. Still, I remember most of what I learned. I can at least make a fake body."

Both Scar and Marcoh immediately understood her, now much more reasonable, plan. But Marcoh saw a glaring problem, "You might be able to make a body, but were will you get the materials?"

Alison looked solemn as she looked towards the two chained chimeras. "Scar, could you…?" she asked sadly. She turned away as he approached the chimeras. They both tried to fight him as he got close, but neither one was even close to matching him.

While he did that, Alison busied herself with drawing two transmutation circles. "Put that here," she instructed Scar while pointing to the more complex of the two circles. She placed her hands on the edges, and tried not to focus on the corpse in front of her. Her face looked slightly green, but she remained focused. A vaguely human-like shape was formed. She dragged the corpse to a wall and sat it upright. Some bones were left over from her transmutation, and she placed them near the remaining chimera. She kept her eye on it, but it appeared far too afraid of Scar to do anything to her. She placed the bones in a pile then returned to her circle.

She stared at the second circle with a confused look. She took another look around the room, but she didn't appear to find what she was looking for. She sighed and turned to Scar. "Can I borrow, um not borrow, take your jacket?" she asked him.

He looked a bit confused, but handed her the long jacket. She placed it in the second, simpler transmutation circle and transformed it into and exact match of Marcoh's clothes. With help from Scar, she dressed the fake body. She took a few steps back to analyze her worked and appeared rather pleased with herself.

"Alright," she started, "just one last thing. Scar, blow it up." He nodded and complied. The result was messy but effective. Still, Alison thought it was missing something. "It needs something…Oh, got it! Write 'vengeance' on the wall. That way there'll be no mistaking it was you who killed him," she told Scar.

He raised an eyebrow, but did as she asked. The whole scene seemed overdone, but convincing. The assumed manner of death and message on the wall would indeed single out Scar as the killer. And the bones near the remaining chimera would make it seem as if the two had fought. Both looked nearly staved to death, so a fight wouldn't be hard to believe. Between Scar, Marcoh, and Alison, no one could see any flaws.

Clearly pleased with herself, Alison completely erased her transmutation circles and said, "Ready to go, Marcoh? Hey, that rhymed…" Ignoring her last remark, the trio began to make their way out of the compound.

It wouldn't have taken them long, if they hadn't run into one last chimera along the way. They were rushing in an attempt to escape long before Marcoh's "death" was discovered, so each of them failed to notice the giant spider crawling above their heads until it dropped down several yards in front of them.

Alison screamed, more because of the loud sound and intense impact then because she actually knew what was happening. But Scar stayed focused and saw the beast immediately. Unfortunately, he also noticed the spider was a chimera.

The spider stood on three pairs of legs, the pair just behind the front had been replaced by two midnight black snakes, and stared down with venom dripping from its fangs. The abdomen of the chimera uncurled to form yet another snake easily three times the length of the original body of the spider. Scar, Alison, and Marcoh scattered as the snake-tail lunged at them.

Scar turned to face the monster, but couldn't move. He now clearly remembered the moments before Valora, the snake-human chimera he'd fought before meeting Dr. Faust, had bitten him. The fact that such a small wound nearly killed completely astounded him. And frightened him.

To make matters worse, he also remembered Alison being terrified of spiders. Any time one would crawl near her, she'd scream and make him or Daein get rid of it. Even the smallest spiders would simply freak her out. Both he and his brother claimed she was being childish, but they'd also both deal with the spiders every time.

Worried for about her, Scar spared a second to glance at Alison. Her eyes were expectedly filled with that same childish fear. But unexpectedly, she wasn't frozen in her fear. She brandished the kusarigama she still carried and used her left hand to wrap the chain around the two snakes on the sides of the spiders. Using her right hand, she sent the sickle flying towards the largest snake. The blade caught the snake and she expertly wielded the weapon to wrap the snakes around themselves. With a deft jerk, the snakes fell free from the main body. The writhed on the ground, but soon fell still.

The spider reared back in pain, but Alison was immediately on top of it. She used the blade to cut off the three pairs of legs and finished by removing the chimera's head screaming, "DIE SPIDER!"

She jumped off of its back and landed in front of Scar. His jaw was dropped and his eyes wide. Of all the things he'd expected her to do that was certainly not one of them.

Seeing his shocked expression, Alison burst out laughing. "Something tells me you weren't expecting that," she giggled.

"That's…an understatement," he managed to reply. She chuckled again, but Marcoh was thoroughly confused. At his asking, Alison just smiled and replied, "I don't like spiders."

"B-but you…that thing…all because…" Marcoh responded in a stutter. Alison burst into another round of laughter and Scar shook his head.

But Alison's merriment was short lived. Her legs were shaking and her knees gave out sending her kneeling to the ground. Scar's eyes grew wide again, but this time because he was worried she'd been hurt. Or that she'd been bitten by one the snakes. "Alison, are you hurt?" he asked with concern obvious in his voice.

"No, I…I'm just tired. I don't think I've slept in…how long was I in that place?" she trailed off at the end. She'd been staring at the ground, but turned her eyes up to face Scar and finished, "Sorry, but I don't think I can walk."

Scar sighed, not because he was annoyed but because he was relieved. "Don't worry about it," he told her. He picked her up and wrapped her arms around his neck so she was riding on his back. She gasped slightly, but didn't protest or resist.

She was surprised by his sudden concern and willingness to help her, but she was far too tired to ask about it. She told herself she'd ask him later, but just before she fell asleep she realized she'd forget as soon as she woke up.

Scar walked slowly until he heard her breathing slow, about thirty seconds after he'd started carrying her. He shook his head and yet again wondered what she went through. Marcoh asked if she was alright, but Scar could only regretfully answer, "I don't know."

Because they'd already been so close to the exit, the group wasn't bothered by any other enemies, much to Scar's relief. He know fully understood the state Alphonse Elric had been in before escaping. He knew it was impossible for him to fight while holding Alison. But he also knew she needed his help to escape, and he wasn't about to leave her behind.

Upon leaving the vast network of tunnels and corridors that made up the Homunculi's hideout, Scar and Marcoh were greeted by the soft blackness of midnight, slightly illuminated by the bright glow of the full moon. Stars glittered in the sky over head, and crickets could be heard chirping all around. The streets were mostly empty, much to Scar's preference, but that certainly didn't mean the two men could take their time walking through the city.

Marcoh fretted about being caught, but after Scar told him angrily that taking time to worry would only slow him down, the doctor was silent. They traveled fast and soon made it back to the familiar alley-way Alison had improved to seem more like a simple home than a side street.

She'd hung blankets high above the street to shield it from some sun and rain. She'd also build simple yet effective wooden lean-tos. A fire pit and dry area for storing food had been built as well. It was shoddy and simple, but it was the best she could do considering inns and stealing homes were clearly not an option.

Upon entering the alley, Scar found May sleeping with Xiao-Mei in her arms and Yoki sleeping with his thumb in his mouth. Marcoh kicked a tin can and the resulting sound immediately woke May. Her panda was still fast asleep, so she carefully crawled around her and ran to greet Scar.

Worry covered her face when she saw Scar holding Alison, and she was obviously immensely relieved when she was told Alison was only sleeping. May quickly cleared a lean-to making it as comfortable as possible. Despite Scar's assurance, the last time May had seen Alison was during the fight with Envy and Gluttony, and Alison had been severely injured during that fight. Because May didn't know who Marcoh was or that he had healed Alison, the young girl still believe Alison had those injuries.

Upon assuring herself Alison was alright, May finally turned her attention to Marcoh. "Who's your friend?" she asked Scar.

"He's no friend. This man is my enemy," Scar replied while Marcoh introduced himself, "I'm a doctor known as Marcoh."

"Marcoh? I've heard that name before…" May responded. Her small face contorted into an intense mask of concentration for several minutes before she finally remembered the story she'd been told by Dr. Knox about the Ishvalan War. "Knox-san said you were a…medical examiner, I think."

"That's a pleasant way of putting it," Scar scoffed. "This is the man responsible for creating the Philosopher's Stone!" As he spoke, his voice rose to well above shouting. The noise caused Yoki to stir, but he quickly fell back to sucking his thumb while he slept. However, Alison did not fall back to sleep.

She sat up slowly while rubbing her eyes. "Alison-chan!" May cried before jumping into the older girl's lap. Tears were in the younger's as she asked if Alison was alright. The older laughed and wrapped her arms around the child.

"I'm fine, May. Don't worry, okay," she said soothingly. May calmed considerably, but remained in Alison's lap. "How long was I asleep?" she asked while turning to Scar and Marcoh.

"Not long," Scar replied not quite able to remove all the anger from his voice. Much had left, however, because Scar was filled with relief at seeing Alison awake and seemingly in good spirits once again. But an awkward silence was born when no one felt they could add to the conversation. Yoki stirred again, groaned, but otherwise made no sign of waking up.

Wanting to do anything to break the silence, May started, "Wait, you said Philosopher's Stone, right? My quest for immortality, Marcoh-san, could you help me?"

"Don't," Scar replied angrily and suddenly. May was a bit shocked and confused by the venom in his voice, so Alison clarified, "May, the Philosopher's Stone is not something you want to use. I promised I'd help you and your family, but I can't let you use the Stones. We'll find another way, okay?" May nodded and dropped the subject.

"Wait," May started again, "I have another question. Scar-san, you said Marcoh-san was your enemy, so why is he here?"

Before Scar had the chance, Alison thought it would be best if she answered, "Scar's brother, just before he…" she paused, obviously still filled with pain over the war, "Anyway, he found something…strange, I guess, about the alchemy in Amestris. I want to know what he found."

"Oh okay," May replied, "wait! Can I help?" Alison smiled and nodded quickly in an attempt to hide the fact that she'd forgotten May could use Alkahestry. "Yay! So, where are we going next?"

"Ishval," Scar said solemnly.

Alison nodded and added, "But that can wait for tomorrow. It's late, we should get some sleep." As if on cue, May yawned loudly. She giggled, then crawled back to her bed and curled back around Xiao-Mei. Marcoh too sat back against one wall of the alley, not under one of Alison's lean-tos because he felt he was already asking too much of Alison, and fell asleep. Yoki was still fast asleep, thumb in mouth as always.

Alison, like Marcoh, slumped against the wall behind her. She fell to the ground with her legs tucked against her chest and her head resting on her knees. Scar kneeled beside her and asked if she was alright. "Yeah, I just…don't want to fall asleep, I guess. Every time I close my eyes, I see those faces," she finished in a whisper almost too soft to hear but still filled with the horror she'd experienced in the artificial Doors of Truth.

"Alison…" Scar murmured, just barely a hint of concern in his voice. But that hint was just enough to cause Alison to explain everything that happened. She spoke slowly and softly as the scene replayed yet again in her mind. When she started to explain Envy's appearance, tears filled her eyes.

"All those people, they were in so much pain but I…I couldn't do anything to help them," she finished with a quiet sob. Seeing her like this, Scar couldn't help but want to comfort her, but he was afraid she'd be offended if he tried. Still, he couldn't bear to see her this upset.

He slowly and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. He expected her to pull away from his touch, but instead she turned towards him and buried her head in his chest. "Afraid, I was so afraid," she muttered as she started to cry.

Again, Scar only wanted to calm her, but he thought he'd made her more upset. He was confused and didn't know what to do, but he thought he needed to say something. "It's over now," he whispered softly.

Much to Scar's still growing confusion, Alison responded by saying, "I'm sorry." She pulled away and laughed, but her voice was quiet and broken. Wiping her tears, she continued, "Normally, in stories when characters have conversations in the middle of the night, it's so they can try and cope with everything that's happening to them. But whenever we have those kinds of talks, I just start crying. I'm sorry."

Scar shook his head and it was Alison's turn to be confused. "What's wrong," she asked, worried she'd done something that had offended him. In response Scar stood and turned away from her. He rubbed his face then said almost too quietly to hear, "Don't apologize. Stop apologizing; you've done nothing wrong."

"I'm so-, I mean, I…I don't know what I mean," Alison tried to reply. Instead of trying to say anything else, she just started at the wall directly across from her. Scar stood near her, but returned to his seat beside her after only a few moments. Unable to think of anything more to say, Alison remained silent. Scar, also not knowing what else to say, fell into deep thought.

He thought about what Alison had said about story characters and decided he should analyze his own story. More remarkable events had happened to him in the past few weeks than any time since the war had ended. And most remarkably, he'd been traveling with Alison all this time.

He glanced down at her and noticed her eyelids were dropping. She was falling asleep. As she fell into deeper sleep, she steadily started slumping towards Scar. With a slight smile, she unconsciously leaned against him. He felt slightly awkward with her that close, but she seemed happy and in peace, so he left her alone.

He knew she had to be exhausted, but he was still far from falling asleep as well. Instead, a more pressing thought occurred to him. He knew the life he had was incredibly, extremely dangerous. Alison had willingly joined him, but after the events that had recently occurred, he'd begun doubting his abilities to protect her.

When Father had said she was dead, Scar realized he'd had feelings for her. After seeing her after Father's words, he'd felt more joy than ever before. But while he considered both good events, they also brought another feeling. He wasn't sure he could protect her.

His feelings still confused him, but he knew he never wanted to see Alison hurt. He also knew he possessed great strength, both from his right arm and martial training, but what he didn't know was whether that would be enough.

He remembered the Homunculi calling Alison a "sacrifice". Whatever they meant by that, he knew they'd come after her again. He had enough problems already fighting them. He wanted her to be safe, but the Homunculi were simply too strong. He wanted to stay by her side, but he decided she'd be safest if she stayed by Colonel Mustang and her friends in the military.

The Homunculi obviously wanted to stay hidden for now, if they attacked her while she was surrounded by high-ranking officers, their cover would definitely be blown. Not to mention Mustang was a skilled State Alchemist. And Scar'd heard rumors about his First Lieutenant's skill with guns. If there was any one place Alison would be safe, it was with them.

He decided to convince her to stay with them as soon as she woke up tomorrow.

(Author's Note: 100 PAGES LONG! This is officially the longest thing I've ever written! Anyway, I had a hell of a hard time writing the end to this. I knew how I wanted it to go, but I just couldn't get anything to sound right…

Next Time- Alison's boyfriend (who doesn't have a name and was in this way less then I originally planned, will make one finally appearance. Making total appearances about…3. Oh well, afterwards it's off to a ghost town! Yay!)


	22. To Ishval

(Author's Note: This chapter is kinda slow and sappy, mostly just Scar and Alison having inner conflicts, but I had to put this stuff in here somewhere. Sorry, but don't worry, the next chapter will have plenty of fighting and Alison blowing stuff up again ^0^)

(Alison's P.o.V.)

I woke slowly, rubbing my eyes as I did so. I couldn't remember the last time I'd slept so well. Normally, I had nightmares all night long, but last night my dreams had been much lighter. I knew I was smiling when I opened my eyes.

But that smile soon turned to an embarrassed blush as I realized I'd fallen asleep leaning on Scar. I quickly scurried away and jumped to my feet. Much to my relief, he was still sound asleep.

Actually, I was a bit mesmerized to find him asleep. I was so used to seeing him angry and tense, but while he was asleep he appeared so calm and relaxed. I think I was staring at him for awhile, because Yoki was asleep when I woke up, but he came over and rudely asked where I'd been lately. But instead of answering, I jumped and gasped.

"What's your problem?" Yoki asked.

"Um…nothing. I guess I'm just…still a bit jumpy, that's all." I stuttered. "I think I'm going to take a walk." I turned and started to walk away. I wasn't sure where I was going to go, but I was fairly certain I'd fallen asleep before Scar had. Which probably means I'd started leaning on him before he fell asleep. I wasn't sure how he'd react to that, but I was still embarrassed so I wanted to give him some time to wake up and maybe forget before he saw me.

As I walked, I thought about the way Scar's been acting lately. Ever since I got back from the fake Doors of Truth, he's been acting very strange. He almost seemed nervous, and a bit confused as well. I walked for nearly half an hour, but I couldn't think of any reasons why he'd be like that.

At least, not until I saw two turtledoves fly by above me. They flew in swooping patterns around each other. I seemed perfectly clear to me that they were mates. And seeing those birds gave me an idea about Scar. _Does he…have feelings for me? _I thought.

But I immediately disregarded that idea. Scar couldn't possibly have feelings for me. He has far too much on his mind to think about romance right now. Besides, why would he have feelings for me? All I ever did was cause him problems and get him hurt. He has no reason to feel anything other than hatred for me. So why was he acting this way? ***

The first thing Scar noticed when he woke up was that Alison wasn't leaning on him. For a moment fear filled him as he looked around and saw that she wasn't even in the alley anymore. He also saw that while May and Marcoh were still asleep, Yoki was awake and looked confused.

"Where's Alison?" Scar asked him gruffly.

"She went for a walk," Yoki shrugged, "I think she went that way." Yoki pointed down the alley towards where Alison had gone. Without another word, Scar ran through the street. Yoki stared after him with growing confusion.

It didn't take Scar long to find Alison sitting on an old box. Her elbows were on her knees and her head in her hands. Her eyes were closed but her forehead was creased in thought. She was clearly in deep debate about something. At the sound of Scar's approaching footsteps her head snapped up at him.

At first, she appeared surprised to see him, but then she simply looked confused. As he got closer, she stood and was about to ask why he was there, but he held up a hand to silence her.

By now he was standing directly in front of her. His face was entirely stoic, his eyes blank, despite the war raging inside him. When he spoke, his voice was steady and controlled. The only emotion he permitted was the stern determination he needed to convince Alison. "Stay here, you're not going to Ishval," he said.

Confusion became shock and pain as Alison heard his words. "What do you mean? I can't stay here, I need to see those notes."

"The Homunculi are looking for you, and they will undoubtedly consider the possibility of Marcoh still being alive. If both of you are together, you'll only become a bigger target."

"So I should stay here? If I don't move I'll only be easier to find. A moving target is much harder to hit than a still one." As she spoke, Alison's voice steadily rose, filled with a growing anger and disbelief.

"If you stay you'll have that Colonel to protect you. The Homunculi wouldn't make a move that would reveal them to the public."

"Is that what this is about? You want to protect me?" Alison's voice became filled with an anger that frankly surprised Scar, "I don't need your protection! I can handle myself just fine!" But then another thought occurred to her, "Unless you're worried you'd be the one to hurt me."

"What…" Scar started but realized she was right. He wasn't worried about the Homunculi hurting her. He knew she could defend herself well enough. It was himself he was worried about. He was worried his anger would flare until he couldn't determine friend from foe. He was worried Alison wouldn't fight to protect herself from him.

"You're right," Scar said quietly. But Alison hadn't heard his words because another's voice had cut through the street.

Alison's boyfriend had called her name from the entrance to the alley. At first the man appeared happy to see her, but when his eyes turned to Scar his face took on a look of contempt, but at the same time he almost appeared to expect to see someone, not necessarily Scar, in that alley with Alison.

"You certainly haven't taken your time," the boyfriend said while crossing his arms against his chest.

"Who is this guy?" Scar asked Alison. She was obviously still angry, but her anger now seemed to be directed at her boyfriend.

"He's my boy- my _ex_-boyfriend," Alison said firmly.

"So what? You're breaking up with me now?" the ex asked.

"You tried to get me arrested! Yes I'm breaking up with you!" she snapped at him. At her fury, the ex started to laugh. Scar stood back and tried to determine what was happening. He'd never seen or expected Alison to become this angry, and he couldn't think of any reason why her ex would be laughing.

The ex didn't take long to answer Scar's unspoken questions, though. When the ex stopped laughing he told Alison, "You really didn't take long to find a replacement then, did you?"

"Replacement? What the hell are you talking about?" Alison fumed.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You can't go five minutes without a man wrapped around your finger. And a serial killer this time, too," he scoffed.

Alison simply stood speechless. While she tried to find her voice, her ex laughed again. His merriment caused her anger to return stronger than before and she used all of it to fuel her response, "I'm not like that and you know it." She walked up to him and grabbed his shirt. "Scar is not 'wrapped around my finger!'" she finished in a glaring yell.

The action she took seemed to infuriate her ex. Anger flared in his eyes and he slapped Alison across the face. "Get away from me, bitch," he snapped.

Alison looked ready to defend herself, but Scar had already pinned her ex against the wall of the street. "Don't touch her," he growled. Instead of frightening the ex, Scar's reaction seemed to only fuel his view of Alison. The ex started to laugh again.

A glance back at Alison revealed her troubled face and tear-filled eyes. Her cheek was turning red, but Scar knew her ex's words had hurt her far more than the slap. The Ishvalan returned to her ex and wanted nothing more than to give him a painful death.

He pulled back his right arm, but stopped when Alison called, "Scar, stop! He's not worth it!"

Finally realizing how easy it would be for Scar to kill him, the ex started to show genuine fear. In response to Alison's words, he was released and turned to look gratefully at her.

"Alison, thank you so-"

"Leave. Now. Before I change my mind," she interrupted. His face became filled with fear once more, but was frozen. He managed to back away quickly, but stopped when his back hit the wall. He fell to his knees and remained there while Alison turned back to Scar. "You didn't kill him," she told him, almost phrasing it as a question.

"You told me not too," he replied. Alison smiled and replied, "Then I was right."

Her ex realized before Scar that he had been used by his old girlfriend. "You didn't want to save me!" he said stumbling to his feet. Alison, who seemed to have already forgotten about him, just glared.

"No, I didn't. I wanted to prove a point, no leave before _I _kill you," she told him with as much poison in her voice as she could muster. Anyone who knew Alison knew she wouldn't, couldn't, kill someone over such a petty reason, however her ex certainly wasn't going to take his chances. Besides, as far a he knew Scar was moments away from attacking him again. So the ex ran as fast as he could from the alley.

"What point?" Scar asked after watching that comic display. Alison, who had started laughing, calmed herself and said, "Scar, you're not the monster you think you are."

He looked at her in shock. "Did you plan this out?" he asked her.

"Actually no. I had no idea you were going to say those things, and I had no idea he'd show up. But since the opportunity arose, I had to take it. And I ended up being right. You are not a monster," she said again slowly in a stern, forceful but not angry voice, "If you were, he would be dead. If you didn't kill him, you won't hurt me."

Alison waited for Scar to say more, but he didn't appear to have anything to say. Instead, he simply nodded. "Really? You're not going to say a thing?" Alison asked, feeling a bit disappointed that no one was going to praise for the way she dealt with both her ex and the situation Scar handed her. "Fine then, but I'm going with you to Ishval."

She turned and walked down the street back towards the alley they were staying in. Scar watched her go in a mix of shock and awe. Once again she'd demonstrated her perfect ability to take control of any situation she was in and make everything go her way in the end. ***

I turned quickly and walked away from Scar. He probably thought I just wanted to get started on our newest journey, but I really just didn't want him to see me blushing. That little display there had proven to me exactly why Scar had been acting strangely. He really did have feelings for me.

Or at least, I couldn't think of any way that he couldn't. If he didn't he wouldn't have wanted me to stay, he wouldn't have defended me against my ex, and he probably would have killed him.

But know I was just confused. I know he killed Sara and Urey Rockbell, but no matter what he said, I couldn't blame him for their deaths. He'd probably be angry with me for thinking this, but he had been confused and hurt, I fully believe he didn't know what he was doing.

But that danger had passed now, and so had his anger. Now, I knew I could trust him. But even so, I didn't have any feelings for him.

Or at least, I didn't think I did. But then I remembered my experience in the artificial Doors of Truth. All I had wanted was for him to be there. And after I had gotten out, I felt so safe with him there. So maybe I did have feelings for him. I was just confused.

My thoughts went back and forth until we got back to the alley. May had woken up, along with Lieu and Xiao-Mei. Upon seeing us, all three rushed towards us and May cried, "I thought you'd been kidnapped!"

I wrapped my arms around her and laughed. "No, we just went out for a walk," I told her soothingly, deciding not telling her about my ex would be an excellent idea. She hugged me back and I looked up at Yoki to see him whistling suspiciously. I gave him a death glare and he ran to hide behind a stack of boxes. I had no doubt he'd made up some elaborate story that had frightened May.

Scar didn't take any notice to the little exchange, though. He was focused on beginning our journey to Ishval. I agreed that we should get under way. Lieu ran up my pants and crawled onto my shoulder. "Lazy cat," I laughed. I knew full well he wasn't planning on walking at all on the trip.

May laughed at him, and Xiao-Mei did the same as Lieu. It appeared she was just as lazy. We laughed again, but stopped when I saw Marcoh waiting a few feet behind May.

He was almost hiding near Yoki and seemed to feel completely out of place. I felt sorry for him, so I decided to try and strike up a conversation while we walked out of the city. Unfortunately, Lieu decided I hadn't been paying enough attention to him and started to bat at my hair as soon as I started talking to Marcoh. I shot him an apologetic look and resigned to being forced to play with my cat for the rest of the day.

It was still early morning when we made our way out of the city. I never liked big cities much, I always thought there was too much noise and Lieu liked to run off every few minutes, but I had too admit staying hidden was so much easier in Central than it had been in East. No one gave us a second look for walking around with hoods pulled up, probably because there were plenty of other people in the same getup. Despite Scar, Marcoh, and me being wanted by both the public side of the military and the Homunculi we were able to exit the city without drawing any attention to ourselves.

Once out of the city we left Xiao-Mei and Lieu to run around each other as we walked. Small towns gave way to open fields giving the animals plenty of room to play. Unfortunately, by the time we actually made it to an open area for them to play in, they'd already tired themselves out. Xiao-Mei had crawled onto May and Lieu was resting in my arms. The whole time May and I had been laughing and teasing the animals.

Meanwhile, Scar and Marcoh had stayed completely silent. Yoki was complaining as usual, but no one felt like dealing with him. He seemed to realize soon that he was being ignored, but that didn't seem to hinder his dour mood in the slightest.

While I walked I tried to stay close to May, but I also tried to keep at least a little distance from Scar. I didn't know if he'd want to talk about what had happened, but I was terrified he'd say something about his feelings for me. I was worried my own conflicted feelings would anger or upset him.

Noon came and went without him trying to say a word to me, though. By then Yoki had started to complain about being hungry. A small village came into view so I suggested stopping there for a quick lunch. No one objected, but Marcoh did worry about being spotted. "Don't worry," I told him, "We're pretty far from Central and this town is pretty out of the way. The Homunculi probably don't have the man power to send word to every little town and village."

This allayed his fears, but he was obviously still uncomfortable. In a stronger effort to calm him, I said, "Look, if Scar can walk around without being noticed, you have nothing to worry about." The way I said it sent May into a fit of laughter as she tried to say she agreed.

Scar, however, just seemed to ignore us. He continued on his way towards the village. I found this incredibly strange and unlike him, but I took me a few moments to realize why.

_Why isn't he angry? _I thought. Before if I teased or made fun of him, he'd at least glare at me. But this time he just shrugged off my joke. By now I was getting angry myself. If he did have feelings for me, he should just come out and admit it. I would have asked him myself, but then I started to wonder if I might be wrong. If I asked, would he be angry? I shuddered at the thought. ***

Scar walked while contemplating the events of the morning. He remembered how upset Alison had been when she'd thought Colonel Mustang had betrayed her, and he remembered how angry she'd been the last time she'd seen her ex boyfriend, just after he'd tried to get her arrested. Scar wanted her to know how he felt, but he also wanted her to be happy. After the argument earlier, he thought it would be best if he waited to tell her.

So he was silent on the way to Ishval. When Yoki had started to complain, they'd almost reached a small village. Stopping for lunch sounded like a good idea, so he went along with Alison's plans. When she'd made the joke about him, he'd ignored her. He didn't want to anger or upset her by getting angry over such a simple thing.

Once inside the village, Marcoh was the first to comment on how completely empty it was. No dogs were barking; no children were playing. Plenty of houses lined wide streets, but not a single door was open. Most of the windows were boarded shut, and no one responded when Alison knocked at several houses.

"This is weird," she murmured almost to herself. "Where is everybody?" she asked in a level voice before repeating the question in a much louder voice. Still, no one answered her call.

Yoki, who had been momentarily silenced by the strangeness of the village, began his complaining again, but this time about being scared. Further investigation revealed a small pub. Like the rest of the town, no one was inside, but there was plenty of food stored in the basement.

Everything was fresh, and all three alchemists analyzed the food without finding anything wrong with it. So the group decided to eat that food instead of their own to help their supplies last until the reached Isvhal.

After lunch they packed their bags with as much food as they could carry and were about to head out. Scar stepped outside into the sunlight and took one more look around the village. He tried to think of a reason why everyone would have just left, but nothing came to mind. Besides the boarded up windows, everything seemed peaceful and ordinary. At least, it did until Alison yelled, "May is missing!"

(Author's Note: Oh no! May! Next chapter, finding a small girl in an empty village…

And again, thank you to everyone who's been reading ^^ Especially DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlympians! Your reviews make my day ^O^)


	23. Shadows

All at once the peaceful town seemed to dissolve into a nightmare. Clouds drifted in to cover the sun, plunging the village into a dusk that mimicked night. The warm spring air turned so frigid breathes formed clouds in the air. The quant houses seemed to age centuries in only a few moments. Doors fell from their frames and windows went from boarded to completely destroyed. But above all else, an eerie, unbreakable silence filled the town.

Alison wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. "What happened to this place?" she asked to no one in particular.

Scar looked around, trying to find any sign of May, before saying, "That's not important."

Alison turned back to him and nodded, "Right, we need to find May. This town is small, but there's still a lot of ground to cover. We should split up."

Scar turned to her and immediately wanted to protest. He wasn't sure what had happened to the town, but he was fairly certain there was danger. And he knew exactly how Alison would want to split them up.

"Scar and I can fight, and Lieu and Xiao-Mei can track using smell, so we'll split into two groups. Scar, take Yoki and Xiao-Mei and search the southern half. I'll take Lieu and Dr. Marcoh and search the north."

"No," Scar expectedly protested, "We don't know what kind of enemy could be here. It's too dangerous."

"We'll be alright if we're cautious," Alison countered, "Besides, considering we don't know who or what we're fighting, we also don't know who took May. We need to find her, fast."

"This town isn't that big. We'll find her without splitting up." Scar was clearly getting angry, but Alison appeared to be even more so.

"I told you before, didn't I? I can fight; I can protect myself. I don't need you watching over me!" she finished in a yell. Marcoh was taken aback by her rage, and Yoki had run to hide behind the doctor. Lieu, who had been sitting on her shoulder, turned and licked her cheek in an attempt to calm her.

Scar was about to argue further, but a dark shadow appeared out of nowhere and clawed at him. "Now what?" Alison growled. The shadow had missed Scar, and was now materializing into a roughly human shape. A shrill, almost demonic laughed echoed through the street as several dozen more shadows flew out from behind rooftops and from inside the dilapidated houses.

"Yoki, Dr. Marcoh, take Lieu and Xiao-Mei and get somewhere safe!" Alison commanded. They followed her orders immediately and ran out of sight.

The two fighters turned and focused in the army in front of them. "Any idea what these things are?" Alison asked.

"None," Scar replied. Alison smirked and prepared her usual basic defense. She pulled out her kusarigama and laced the air with lightning and fire traps. Scar took on a fighting pose and prepared for the storm.

The first wave of shadows flooded towards the two, but Alison's traps obliterated them. The second wave was much more cautious. They flew in slowly, sending a few ahead to try and find her traps. A few were caught, but most made it through.

Three rushed towards Scar, but he was more than ready to take them. The shadows were fast, but he was faster. One tried to claw at him again, but he dodged just as easily as before and managed to counter as well.

He felt the power flow through his right arm and pushed towards his enemy with full intent to kill. But instead of making contact with the shadow, Scar simply passed through it. He tried once more to destroy his opponent, but again he passed through as if the shadow was made of air. But when it clawed out again, long gashes appeared down Scar's arm. He jumped away and held his injured arm closely. _What are these things?_ He thought frantically.

Alison blasted away a few more shadows as they headed for her. But they were fast, and soon she was surrounded. Still, she knew being surrounded would only make it easier for her to fight. She lifted her kusarigama and started swinging it around. As she fed it more chain, the circle grew around her. The sickle quickly grew long enough to reach every shadow around her. But instead of ripping them apart, the blade passed harmless through.

Alison was momentarily frozen in confusion, but she snapped back and tried blasting away at the shadows again. Fire and lightning struck out and destroyed them. Intrigued, she watched as a few more flew towards her. She easily obliterated all but one. The last one she purposefully only injured.

It was flittering near the ground, obviously trying to fly away before Alison got too close. But it was clearly far too injured to move. She kneeled down beside it and tried to grab it. Her hand passed through as if it were only a shadow. However, in one last act of defense, it reached out to claw at her hand. She didn't try to pull away, and was then shocked when she felt its claw rake across her hand. A thin scratch appeared near her wrist. It didn't hurt, but it was surprising.

Alison watched, a bit sad, as the shadow began to fade away. She turned from it, and finally turned her attention to Scar's fight. It was immediately obvious he couldn't do a thing to harm the shadows. Alison cursed her ignorance and ran to help him.

"Move!" she called out to him. He turned and noted she was completely unharmed. He took that as a sign that she could harm the shadows and followed her advice. He ran in between two nearby houses just before a ball of flame lit of the shadows. Just as quickly as the flame had appeared, it disappeared taking the last few shadows with it.

"Do you know what those things are now?" Scar asked.

"Ghosts?" Alison replied, sounding completely sarcastic. "No, I have no idea what they might be. But I do know that only my alchemy appears to hurt them. Looks like we won't be splitting up after all," Alison added with a short laugh. "At any rate, now we know we have to find May, and fast. But first, let me tend to that arm."

Scar only nodded in response, so Alison walked over and quickly wrapped some bandages around the wound. It wasn't deep, and it didn't bother Scar all that much. What did bother him, though, was Alison standing so close, but not in a bad way. He liked having her so close, it made him feel almost happy. He knew for sure he felt more at ease when she was near him.

Now that the danger had momentarily passed, Yoki and the others rejoined the group. Alison took the liberty of filling them in on the latest news. "What? No!" Yoki cried, "I'm not going to put my life in the hands of some skinny girl!" As soon as he'd said this, Scar was in front of him and glaring. Yoki whimpered in fear and ran to hide behind Marcoh again.

"Scar, stop," Alison said, "He may be right. I don't really know if I'll be able to handle this on my own." She hung her head and looked so small and upset with herself. Scar wanted nothing more that to comfort her. He remembered his brother joking about her going into depressed moods, and then turning right around as soon as anyone would praise her.

But Scar wasn't sure how to praise her, so instead he said, "Alison, you need to be strong. May needs you to be." She looked up at him and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right," she muttered softly, still not sure of herself. But she knew he was right, so she lifted her head and squared her shoulders. "Alright, let's go. Lieu, Xiao-Mei, you two need to try and find May's scent. Scout around, but don't go too far. As for the rest of you, just stay close to me. Oh, and Yoki, get off of Dr. Marcoh."

Yoki reluctantly stepped away from the doctor. Alison gave a nervous sigh and told Lieu and Xiao-Mei to start looking. The animals looked at each other, then started walking down opposite sides of the street. They checked in each side alley and doorway for a hint of May's scent. Alison stayed more or less in the middle of the two, and the rest stayed close to her back.

A few more times throughout the day more shadows attacked, but Alison was always ready to blow them away. She learned quickly the shadows where extremely fragile and easy to destroy. This gave her the confidence she needed to head the search party.

However, as they day went on, Alison began to noticed more and more shadows were surviving the first wave of explosions she sent after them. As the sun got lower, the shadows seemed to get stronger. But at the same time, Alison also began growing increasingly annoyed by the shadows.

Every time they showed up, it was in waves of at least three or four dozen. They stronger the individual shadows became, they more annoyed Alison became. By the time evening had descended on the village, she was ready to set the whole place on fire. Unfortunately, Marcoh talked her out of it, saying that would only put May's life in danger.

Grumpily, Alison admitted he was right and continued the search. By that time, the sun was about to set. More shadows appeared again, but this time only three floated towards the group. Yoki sighed in relief, thinking this would be a quick, easy fight, but Alison tensed and prepared for the worst. If these things were getting stronger as the shadows grew longer, then the three in front of her would probably be immensely strong.

And fast, she learned immediately. One charged at her almost too fast to see. She yelled, "Scatter!" just before it would have reached the group. Yoki and Marcoh ran off somewhere out of sight again, but Scar remained close by.

He'd come to the same conclusion as Alison, and even though he knew he couldn't fight, he felt better being close by. Cursing his inability to help, he watched her take on the newest opponents. ***

The shadow that had charged retreated just as quickly. I set a few traps around them, almost expecting them to destroy the ghosts. Not surprisingly, they seemed completely unaffected by the flames. Scowling, I myself retreated so I could avoid their sharp claws.

Now I knew for sure these shadows were stronger than their predecessors, but that in no way meant I was going to give up. I decided to try something new, and ran my hands over my kusarigama. Remembering the awesome effect a lightning strike had on a cloud of iron dust, I decided to see what would happened it I coated my blade with charged iron particles.

I have to admit, I love the effect. Sparks danced across the blade like thin claws seeking flesh. Also, due to stone being to only material Ed had to work with, the lightning couldn't travel down the chain and hurt me. I watched the dance in wonder for a few moments before twirling the sickle. Experimentally, I hurled the blade towards one shadow. I large rent appeared in its translucent body. However, after a few moments, the rent healed itself. Still, if I was fast enough, I could tear these things to shreds.

I wrapped most of the chain around my wrist and ran towards the shadows. By keeping the chain short, I could swing it faster and easier in close quarters. It took me only a few seconds to destroy two of the shadows. The third one, though, grabbed my right arm and dug in its claws. I bit back a cry of pain as I ripped my arm away and turned to slice the ghost in half.

As the tattered remains faded away, Scar approached slowly, his eyes never leaving my injured arm. His face was characteristically stoic, but still I could make out just the smallest hint of concern in his eyes. "I'm fine," I told him, "it's really not as bad as it looks, and it doesn't hurt a bit!" To emphasize my point, I smiled and tried to lift my arm, but searing pain caused me to drop it and hold it against my chest. "Okay, maybe it hurts a little."

Scar just shook his head and turned to Marcoh, who along with Yoki and the animals had come out of hiding, and told him to fix my arm. The doctor nodded and ran over to me, but I told him to just stop the bleeding. We didn't have time to waste on me. Scar clearly wasn't happy, but he didn't argue

Lieu, however, did argue, though he didn't have much influence. But I noticed the moon had begun to rise over the clouds, so I thought it would be best if we took a few hours to rest. We all, except for maybe Yoki, wanted to find May, but I was beginning to worry I would get to tired to fight. Besides, Yoki was saying he'd pass out from exhaustion soon and no one wanted to hear him complain anymore.

Scar broke down the door of the nearest house and we all went inside. Yoki found the only bed and immediately fell dead asleep on it. Marcoh wandered over to the corner farthest from the door, where he assumed Scar and I would stay close, and slumped to the floor. Scar walked over to the wall opposite the only door and dropped against it. I sat down beside him with the animals between us.

Lieu and Xiao Mei fell asleep almost immediately, but I wanted to stay awake for as long as possible, just in case more shadows showed up later in the night. To help keep myself awake, I tried striking up a conversation with Scar several times, but he never responded to anything I had to say. After only a few minutes, I sighed overdramatically and gave up.

Not long after, much to my utter and complete surprise, Scar began to speak. "How's your arm," was all he said though.

I raised my eyebrow at him and answered, "A bit sore, but otherwise fine."

"You should have Marcoh finish healing it."

"No, my arm's not that bad. Besides, he's tired and I know whenever I'm tired I tend to accidentally blow everything up. Now, I'm not sure Dr. Marcoh would have that problem, but I'd still rather not have him practicing alchemy on my body while he can't even keep his eyes open." I laughed a bit to try and lighten the mood, but we both knew what I'd said was a valid point.

"Then have him look at it first thing in the morning. For now, get some sleep."

"I can't just get some sleep. What if more of those damn shadow things show up?"

"If more show up, I'll wake you. Before that, though, get some sleep." Feeling defiant and thinking he was in a more talkative mood, I tried once again to strike up a conversation. Unfortunately, he just resumed his silence and refused to speak further. I gave another overdramatic sigh, but closed my eyes and reluctantly fell asleep.

I awoke the next morning feeling completely refreshed. My arm still throbbed, but I could move it without much trouble. By hiding the slight pain, I was able to avoid what I thought would be a waste of time to let Marcoh heal it some more. Scar clearly disapproved, but I didn't give him the chance to argue. I was out to door almost before Yoki'd even had the chance to wake up.

Like the day before, waves of shadows approached, but they had reverted to their extremely weak selves and were therefore simple to destroy. I, however, was becoming extremely bored with just blowing them up, so I laced lightning along my kusarigama again and hacked through the shadows.

I soon realized this was a mistake, though. While simply moving my arm hadn't caused much pain, fighting with it caused a lot more stress on my wound. After only a few swings I could feel my arm start to go numb. I didn't want to waste time worrying about it, or have someone else worry, so I kept quiet about it. Still, Lieu could tell.

After a particularly long fight, he'd crawled up my uninjured arm and walked over to my other shoulder. He bent down as low as he could reach and licked my injured arm. Thankfully, neither Marcoh nor Scar had seen, so I gently cradled my cat. He whimpered to let me know he was worried, but I placed him on the ground and smiled at him, trying to let him know I was fine without alerting the others.

In response, Lieu meowed softly, but resigned to walking beside me. By now Scar had noticed my cat's strange behavior, but at his puzzled look I simply shrugged.

By noon Yoki was complaining about being hungry again, but we ignored him because Xiao Mei had finally gotten wind of May's scent. The panda ran towards me and started to bat against my feet. She turned and pointed towards a normal looking house. Lieu ran for it and sniffed the air. He too returned and batted at my boots.

Scar and I took this as a clear sign May was in the house so we all ran for it. I walked in first and looked around. A bed rested against one wall, under the only window, and a small kitchen had been built opposite it. Other than that, the only thing in the small one room house was an old, empty bookcase.

And it was the bookcase that the animals ran to. I examined it and saw a door was concealed behind it. Mostly because my arm was getting more and more numb as time went on and not at all because I didn't want to move a giant bookcase, I made Scar push it out of the way. He didn't argue or complain as he easily pushed it aside.

The door behind it was obviously decades newer then the bookcase was. The door was also covered in ornate, complicated carvings that seemed to depict the fall of a nation. Or village, it was hard to tell. Not surprisingly, the door was locked tight. However, for a skilled alchemist such as myself, drawing a simple transmutation and transmuting the closed locks into open ones was a breeze.

Getting in was simple enough, but none of us had any idea what would be waiting. Deciding stealth was obviously the best course of action, I told everyone else to wait while I went in for May. Unfortunately, Scar immediately refused.

"It's not safe for you to go alone," he said.

"What other choice do we have?" I asked, "I'm the only one who can fight these things. Besides, it'll be far easier to sneak May out if only one of us goes."

"It's too dangerous."

"We don't have a choice."

Silence filled the air as Scar and I stared each other down. We probably could have stayed like that for hours, but Yoki interrupted by asking me, "Why do you say 'besides' all the time?"

I glared at him and replied, "What the hell kind of question is that?" Yoki just shrugged and hid behind Marcoh yet again. But now that our stare down had been broken, I knew I'd have to give in if I wanted to help May. "Fine, but hurry. And don't make a sound," I told Scar.

He nodded and I turned to say one last thing to Lieu and Xiao Mei. "You two wait here. We don't know what's down there and I don't want you getting hurt, okay? And Xiao Mei, don't worry. We'll find May and bring her back." I smiled at the panda, and she nodded in return. With that done, Scar and I headed through the door.

Almost immediately, stairs leading down appeared. I couldn't see anything below, only a never ending blackness. I was suddenly glad I'd let Scar come along. The dark was almost oppressive, and it seemed to induce a dour, bleak feeling on both of us. In an attempt to lighten the dark mood a bit, I jokingly said, "I wish we had a torch or something, you can't see a thing down here."

Scar, however, had taken me seriously and replied, "You don't like the dark?"

"Not especially, no," I replied, thinking about my time in Gluttony's stomach, or where ever the hell I'd been.

"We could set this place on fire," Scar suggested, sounding completely serious.

"That's just stu-…wait, are you making fun of me again? Hey, answer me!" I snapped furiously. But then I heard a faint whisper, as if someone far away were talking. "Shh, stop talking, I think I heard something," I said despite the fact Scar hadn't started to say anything. It also occurred to me I'd told Scar to keep quiet before we came down here, and that I'd broken that advice almost as soon as we started down the stairs.

As we walked lower into the building the whispers began to grow louder. However, before I could actually start making out what they were saying, the voice stopped. I literally growled in frustration.

But we were starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel, so I took that as a good sign. However, the closer we got, the easier it was to see the stairs lead into a single, large room. It was painfully obvious we'd be caught as soon as we walked in, so we didn't even try to sneak. I barged in and Scar followed suit.

The room as actually pretty dark seeing as it was only lit by a few candles placed about. Along the walls I could see a number of drawing and carvings, but it was too dark to see what any of them were for, or what they depicted. Bones and blood was scattered around the floor, giving the room an eerie, evil feel. Some of the skeletons were child sized, and I shuttered when I saw them. But seeing them also made me think of May, and I knew for sure she'd need our help now.

"Where the hell is May!" I snapped as I entered the room.. An older man snapped his head up at Scar and me. He was standing in front of an alter covered in blood. My heart skipped a beat as I thought it was May's, but then I heard her shout my name.

Behind the man and the alter stood a large cage. Inside it sat a terrified and tired May. She didn't appear physically injured, but still I glared furiously at the man in the center of the room. And he glared back.

"What are you doing here?" he asked me.

"What the hell do you think?" I responded, not in the least but hiding my anger, "You stole my friend, so I'm taking her back." May smiled and cheered, but the man just laughed.

"And how do you intend to do that?" he scoffed. As he spoke, dozens of shadows filled the room, surrounding all of us. But I knew it wasn't any later than noon, so these things shouldn't stand a chance.

Just to add a dramatic effect, I spread my arms out at my sides. Just that simple movement made my injured arm throb, and it was still uncomfortably numb, but I ignored that because May clearly believed I was about to do something amazing, and she looked like she needed some cheering up.

When my arms were level with my shoulders, I set off the pockets of explosions I'd strung together. Each and every shadow that had appeared was torn apart by the force and the flames. However, not a single explosion got close to harming anyone else.

"Now then," I smiled innocently, "as I said, I'm taking May back." I took a step closer to the man, and he took a fearful step back. He straightened, though, when he seemed to suddenly remember something.

"N-no!" he stammered, "You won't win, not after this!" He pointed towards a side passage I'd failed to notice earlier, and as he did the strong, sickening smell of death filled the room. May held her nose, and both Scar and I took a step back.

From within the door way walked what appeared to be half decayed corpses. They shuffled slowly, and it should have been simple to destroy them, but the very sight of them unnerved me almost to the point of hysterical fear. The dead are not supposed to walk.

I backed away and ran into the wall just left of the doorway Scar and I had entered. Scar, too, wasn't very fond of our newest enemies, but he thought it they were indeed walking corpses, then he'd be able to fight.

He approached the closest one and shoved his right hand in it's face. His destruction alchemy worked exceptionally well. The zombie fell to the ground and ceased to move. Feeling far more confident now that he could actually defeat his enemies, Scar quickly dealt with every last corpse.

They tried to fight back, but their movements were slow and clumsy. However, no matter how much [physical damaged Scar did to them, they failed to stay down. Apparently, only his destruction alchemy had a chance of ensuring their end. When the last corpse lay unmoving and defeated, Scar stood straight and triumphantly. Once again, the old man was left without any options.

But instead of appearing frightened, he was grinning maddeningly. "You…you're that wanted criminal. You're Scar!" he cried joyfully. "And you!" he pointed to me, "You're that Aurora Alchemist, aren't you? Oh, this is perfect!"

I stepped in front of Scar, a bit embarrassed that I'd been so afraid of the zombies, and snapped, "Yeah, so what if we are?"

"Perfect, perfect. Revenge, revenge!" the old man mumbled. He began laughing maniacally, and then turned to stare straight at Scar. "Revenge, such a sweet, satisfying emotion! She killed your people, don't you just want to tear her apart?"

I myself almost laughed at his insane new plan. "This again? Why does everyone always try to play that card? It's not going to work, Scar's not going to turn on me that easily," I told him confidently, and, in what I thought was reassurance, I felt Scar place his hand on my shoulder.

But a few moments later a searing heat and intense pain flared under his touch. I pulled away as fast as I could, but I could feel blood dripping down my already injured arm. I looked up at Scar, expecting to see anger, but not even his normal stoic face was showing. instead, he almost looked dead. There wasn't a hint of emotion, and his eyes were unfocused, glazed, and staring as if he were looking at something miles away. Fear grew in the pit of my stomach as I realized this was the old man's ultimate weapon. Scar could hurt me, but I knew I wouldn't be able to hurt him.

(Author's Note: Yay! I finished ^O^ I would have been done a hell of a lot sooner, but I had to give my school back the oh so lovely Mac they'd given me for the school year :,( I miss it so much. Especially cause now I have to type everything on a PC and it took me freaking three damn days to manage to convert all my stories to a format that would open! I was very frustrated…

But I fixed it! And school's out for the summer! I should (but knowing me probably won't) be uploading much more often now! [And I can finally finish reading the _Eragon_ series! I've had _Brisingr_ since it came out…but I only actually read half….then I got _Inheritance_…and I still haven't finished _Brisingr_…opps :3


	24. It's Raining Again

(Author's Note: Sorry this took so long, I rewrote the beginning so many times…I couldn't decide on how I wanted it to go, but I think I like how it turned out. It's sad though…but I promise it gets better!

Oh! And thanks so much DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlympians!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY Fayre Eternity! I'm actually surprised I finished…apparently I'm supposed to go outside during the summer so I've been forced to leave the black hole that is my room…)

Scar charged again, and I easily dodged. He was fast, but I was far faster. Still, I knew all too well he had so much more stamina than I did, and with my right arm half numb I didn't stand a chance.

But it's not like I thought I could fight him anyway. No, I knew I couldn't even consider that as a possible way to win this fight. So while I ran and dodged, I thought up other strategies. Though I wasn't sure, I thought the knocking out to old man would be my best bet at stopping whatever was wrong with Scar. So instead of thinking of a way to defeat Scar, I simply thought of a way to stop him long enough to get at the old man.

First, I needed a diversion. The stone alter in the middle of the room, once shattered, would make a wonderful cloud of thick, concealing dust. I just had to get to it. Unfortunately, Scar was standing directly in front of it, and he didn't look like he'd stop fighting any time soon. But he didn't look like he wanted to fight either. His face was completely blank and his eyes were still empty as if he were daydreaming or in a daze. His appearance unnerved me, almost frightened me.

But I needed to get past him. Instead of dodging, I ran towards him. As I approached he reached out his right arm to catch me. I ducked under his arm and jumped to the left and behind him. I made a mad dash for the alter, but I felt a strong hand grab my left shoulder. Scar pulled me back and I fell to the ground. I landed on my right arm, and I realized the wound he'd given me earlier would probably be excruciating if that had any feeling left.

But I barely felt anything as I hit the ground. I didn't have time to appreciate this, though, because Scar's left hand came down on my throat. He pulled back his right arm and I felt my eyes grow wide in fear. "Scar, stop!" I shouted while I reached up to try and pull his left arm off of me. "This isn't you! You have to stop!" I hoped hearing my voice or feeling how weak my right arm was would snap him out of whatever trance he was in.

I must have broken through, but only a little. His grip on my neck lessened, and he lowered his right arm, but that dazed look didn't leave his face. However, I was able to pull away. I ran a few feet and rubbed the bruise I knew forming on my neck. Breathing was difficult, and I sincerely hoped my throat would clear soon.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Scar's right arm reach for me. I jumped out of the way, and my back ran into metal bars. A small hand grabbed my shirt, and I looked down to see May. Her face was wet with tears and her eyes were filled with confused fear. "Why is Scar-san trying to hurt you?" she asked frantically.

"I don't know," I told her, "but don't worry. I'll stop him and get us all out of here." May still looked frightened, but she released my shirt just in time for me to avoid yet another of Scar's attacks. This time, though, he'd reached out with his left arm. I assumed he was trying to at least slow me down a bit at this point. But he really didn't have to worry. Once there was a few feet between May and I, I stopped controlling my breathing so I wouldn't pass out. I was panting heavily as I ducked under Scar's right arm.

The wall behind me exploded. I used the distraction to hide behind a nearby pile of old wooden boxes. I only needed a moment to catch my breath, and I also wanted to prepare. Once the alter was destroyed, I intended to use the chain of my kusarigama to bind Scar. It wouldn't hold him long, but I hoped I'd have enough time to give the old man a good whack

Speaking of which, I did a quick scan around to room, and noticed the man had hidden himself in a corner by May's cage. Now that I had this fight fully mapped out, I focused on holding my sickle in my almost completely numb right hand and wrapped some of the chain around it so I wouldn't drop it. I began to stand and head for the alter, but a massive explosion flared behind me. I spun around and fell back against the wall.

As I did, I felt a stabbing, searing pain erupte in my stomach. I looked down and saw a bloody piece of metal just left of my navel. I vaguely remembered seeing similar metal on one of the boxes I'd hidden behind. I tried to look back up at Scar one last time, but my vision blurred and I fell. ***

Scar blinked as if waking from a dream. Or in his case, a nightmare. He'd dreamed of Alison standing before him. But her expression was fearful, and he'd felt his body move without his control. He'd headed for her and started attacking her. He'd tried to stop himself, but no matter how hard he tried, the most he could do was stop himself for half a moment. And to make things worse, he could barely concentrate over the sound of the old man singing "Revenge, revenge," over and over.

Or at least, he couldn't concentrate until he watched himself destroy the boxes he knew Alison was hiding behind. As the dust settled, he saw the metal rod protruding from her stomach, and when she reached out to him, he realized he hadn't been dreaming.

"Alison!" he cried before catching her just before she hit the ground. Blood dripped from her lips and tears fell from her eyes, but she smiled up at Scar.

"You're back," she said softly, "I'm glad." He eyes closed and Scar called her name again, but she didn't wake. In a panic, Scar looked around the room for anything that would save her. He heard May calling to him, and turned to see the old man standing In front of her cage.

Rage filled Scar when he remembered the old man had been the one to put him in that trance. He was practically seeing red, his anger was so intense. He charged straight for the man he grabbed his face with his right hand. Scar held the man and slammed him against the bars of May's cage.

Without missing a beat, Scar's fury ran through his right arm. The old man fell to the ground, singing and laughing with his last breath. But Scar wasn't paying attention to the man. He held his right hand in front of himself thought of Alison. Their fight seemed far too clear in his thoughts. But his reverie was interrupted by May asking if he was alright.

He looked down at her, but thinking of how close she was to Alison, he couldn't make eye contact. He freed the girl from her cage and she ran to Alison. While she dealt with her injuries, Scar walked over to the door he'd walked in when he and Alison had first entered the basement. No one spoke during the hour it took May to treat Alison's wounds. Scar kept his attention on the door the zombies had entered through the entire time, almost wanting some enemy to try and fight him.

After what seemed like forever, May called to Scar, "She'll be alright, but she needs rest." Scar nodded and walked over. May looked at him, but the trust she'd so readily displayed before wasn't nearly as prominent. Still, she seemed to know he hadn't meant to hurt Alison, and he figured that trust would return as soon as she woke up. But he wasn't sure if he wanted it too.

He knelt down and carefully lifted Alison, using every ounce of caution he had not to injure her further. May started up the stairs and Scar followed. Upon reaching the top, Xiao Mei, with tears flowing, launched herself at May. She caught the panda and assured her she was alright. Meanwhile, Lieu walked more slowly towards Scar and Alison. The cat crawled up Scar's leg so he could lightly jump onto Alison. He licked her cheeked and mewed quietly. Watching him, Scar wished more than anything he hadn't insisted on coming with her to rescue May.

Marcoh approached next, but the look on Scar's face told him he should ask just yet. Yoki had fallen asleep sometime after Alison and Scar had first gone after May, and he didn't appear to be waking any time soon.

May advised that it would be best if Alison wasn't moved more that necessary, so Scar laid her down in the middle of the house. He turned to close the door that lead into the basement, and he pushed the bookcase back into place.

Lieu and Xiao Mei sat next to Alison, as well as Marcoh and May. Scar couldn't bare to stay in the room any long, so he left without a word. He didn't plan on staying out long, he just wanted to have some time alone so he could get his thoughts together.

He returned several hours later, long after the moon had risen. Everyone was asleep, so he took care not to make a sound. Alison was still in the center of the room, but now she had a blanket draped over her. Scar walked quietly over and sat beside her.

Her face was paler than usual, but she was breathing normally. The blanket covered most of her wounds, but a bruise could still be seen forming around her neck. Scar couldn't remember ever feeling so much regret. And to him, the fact that no one seemed to blame him only made it worse.

Alison stirred slightly and fear filled her sleeping face. _A nightmare? _Scar thought. He reached down and wrapped his hand around hers. But the thought that he was causing the nightmare crossed his mind, and he dropped her hand. He heard motion behind him and snapped around to see May waking up.

"Scar-san, are you back?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied after turning back to Alison. Soft footsteps grew closer to him as May walked over.

"Where did you go?" she continued.

"I went for a walk." She tried asking more, but it was obvious Scar wouldn't elaborate.

"Marcoh-san and Yoki-sama went to look for you, but they never even saw you." When Scar didn't reply, May said again, "She's going to be okay." Scar only nodded. His unusual mood made her more depressed, and she desperately hoped Alison woke soon.

But as she thought of Alison, she remembered something she'd noticed earlier. "Oh yeah, Scar-san, I saw a scar on Alison-chan's stomach, and old one. Do you know how she got it? It looked like it came from a pretty bad wound."

He looked down at her but shook his head, "No, I don't know how she could have gotten a scar like that."

May looked down, like she was upset, or worried. "Oh, okay," she said. Silence filled the room and she yawned. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and said, "You should get some sleep," before returning to the placed she'd been sleeping.

Scar tried, but he just couldn't fall asleep. He sat for awhile, but once again he found he needed to get out for some air. ***

"Alison-chan? Alison-chan are you awake?" I heard May say frantically. I opened my eyes and saw her leaning over me. "How do you feel?"

"May? My stomach hurts a bit, and my shoulder. But my arm doesn't hurt, and it's not numb anymore."

"Numb? Your arm was numb?"

"Oh, um yeah, but that's gone now. Don't worry about it, okay." May nodded solemnly, and I took a look around the room. I recognized it as the house with the basement May'd been in. Seeing the bookcase I remembered finding May and the following fight. "Wait, where's Scar?" I asked hurriedly.

"I don't know, he left before I woke up," May told me. I nodded and started to get up, but May grabbed my hand to stop me.

"Wait! You shouldn't get up just yet!"

"May, I have to find him." She reluctantly released my hand and I stood up shakily. My wounds hurt, but thanks to May's Alkahestry I could move relatively easily.

Lieu tried to follow me out, but I told him to stay behind. I wanted to talk to Scar alone. When I left the house, I noticed the other houses in the town had returned to the way they were when we first arrived. The windows were still boarded up, but none of them were old or broken down anymore.

I wandered around the town for awhile without finding Scar anywhere. A gust of wind blew past me and I looked up at the sky. It looked like it was about to rain.

On a whim I decided to follow the breeze instead of wandering aimlessly. And sure enough, not long after I saw Scar walking down a larger street.

The street ended on the shore of a large lake, and he was staring out over it. I approached slowly and called out to him. He snapped around as if I was the last person he expected to see, and the look of pure shock on his face confirmed that.

"Alison… you're awake," he said softly, and sounding as if he couldn't believe it. He took a few steps towards me, but then stopped and turned around.

In response, I walked closer to him. "Yeah, I'm awake," I told him.

He nodded and was quiet for a bit before saying, "May said she saw a scar on your stomach. An old scar. She wanted to know what happened."

"Oh that," I started and put my hand over the scar, just above my left hip. "That's from when…when I got shot. Did Daein tell you?"

"Yeah," he replied and the look in his eyes told me he'd found out the day Daein had died. I looked away from him and regretted making him remember that day.

Silence came between us for the longest time. After awhile I began to feel like the silence was becoming almost crushing. In an attempt to end it, I continued, "May's worried about, you know. She said you left in the middle of the night, and she woke scared that you weren't there."

"Alison, stop," he replied.

"What?"

"I'm not going back. Return to May and take her to Ishval, help her get her Immortality or whatever. She can help you with my brother's notes, I can't. You know the way, you don't need me."

"What are you talking about?" I asked in disbelief. I looked up and him, but his face was stoic. Even his eyes didn't reveal emotion.

"I told you, I can't stay with you anymore."

"No, Scar, you can't just leave like this!" I responded, anger and desperation filling my voice. He couldn't leave, he couldn't. I didn't want to see him go, I didn't want to go anywhere without him because I…

He turned to face me and put his hands on my shoulders. His fingers brushed the wound on my shoulder and I involuntarily flinched. "I hurt you, I almost killed you. If May hadn't been there, you would be dead. I can't- …I can't be around you anymore. I'll just end up hurting you again."

"No! That's not you're fault!" I almost shouted back. I could feel tears forming in my eyes, but I wouldn't let Scar do this.

"Alison, listen to me! I can't protect you, I only ever get you hurt. It'll be easier for you to get to Ishval on your own. I'm leaving."

"No, you listen to me!" I snapped. I grabbed his right hand and pulled it up to my cheek. He looked surprised but he didn't pull away. "You're not hurting me. When you're around, I feel safe. I feel like I belong. Before I left with you, I was always afraid. I was afraid my boyfriend would walk out in me, I was afraid the Fuehrer would learn about my involvement in Ishval, and I was afraid Mustang would stop covering for me and I'd lose my job. But now, I sent my ex running, attacked the Fuehrer, and I don't care whether Mustang looks out for me or not anymore. Scar, it's because of you that I'm not afraid anymore."

The shock on his face had steadily grown as I spoke, but I could tell he was loosing his will to argue as well. "Alison…" he muttered, but he appeared to be at a loss for words, so I continued.

"Scar, we need each other. You protect me, and I protect you. If you feel you can't fight for me anymore, than you'll just have to get stronger. What happened in that basement was a fluke. You weren't in control of your actions. But what you said just now proves that you'd never willingly hurt me. And whatever method that old guy used, I'm sure it's not very common. Stop worrying."

He was silent for a few moments before sighing and saying, "You're right."

"Of course I am," I said with a laugh, "Didn't you know, I'm always right." I smiled, and I hoped Scar would too. But instead, he only nodded. I sighed in exasperation, but looked back up at him when I realized his hand was still on my cheek. I blushed a bit and started to pull away, but then May's voice called out to us.

"Just kiss her already!" My blushed deepened so much that my face must have been redder than a cherry. I knew I could feel my cheeks burning as I turned to see May running out from behind a house back towards where we were apparently staying.

I turned back to Scar and tried to pull away, assuming he was maybe not as embarrassed as I was, but at least a little. Instead of letting me go, though, he tightened his grip on my uninjured left shoulder and turned my head so I was looking up at him. A rain drop fell on my cheek, and his thumb gently brushed it away. I felt my cheeks grow even redder and hotter that I thought they could possibly get as he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine.

I felt him tense a bit, as if he expected me to pull away, but I didn't. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled myself closer. The rain began falling faster, but neither of us cared. All I could focus on or think about was Scar. Because I love him.

(Author's Note: It's done YAY! I hope you liked the ending ^^)


	25. On the Road Again

(Author's Note: SORRY! This took forever…I blame Final Fantasy XIII. I got the game just after it came out, but them my brother broke the first disk Now, I finally got another copy and could do little else since then. Again, I'm sorry, but YAY, I finished another chapter!

Thank you so much to Lonerwolf1015, Fayre Eternity, and of course DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlympians ^O^ you make my day!)

We walked slowly despite the rain. Scar stood far closer to me than normal. I must have been blushing the entire time, especially when his fingers wrapped around mine. But I couldn't say my smile wasn't more sincere than it had been in months.

We didn't talk for most of the trip. I was still a bit shocked by what had happened, but more than that I was just happy with how it turned out. I didn't really have anything to say. But I was also a bit worried, I guess. I was worried Scar would try and say he had to leave again.

Though, I guess he could have brought it up at any time. I looked up at him, trying to see if I could make anything out of his expression, and all I saw was him staring ahead. He seemed to be in deep thought, and I guess it had to be about the fight. I wanted to do something to help him, but anything I did or said would probably just make him feel worse. Still, I squeezed his hand and leaned closer to him, hoping to let him know I was alright and he didn't have to worry.

He responded by gripping my hand tighter, but he didn't say anything. As we got closer to the house we were staying in, the rain started to let up and the sun poked through the clouds. Golden light reflected of drenched streets making the entire area almost glow. I gasped at the beauty of the scene, and I felt Scar's eyes on me.

Suddenly, he started to talk. "Alison," he said while turning to me and placing his hands on my shoulders, "You were gravely injured because if me-"

"Scar, stop! It's not your fault," I insisted once again. He shook his head, though, and continued.

"I hurt you, and I never want that to happen again. Alison, if anything like this ever happens again, you must do whatever is necessary to stop me." The look in his eyes told me clearly he wanted me to swear I'd stop him, but that was one thing I just couldn't do. Instead, I took a step forward, wrapped my arms around him, and pressed my head against his chest.

He gasped in surprise, but before he could say anything, I told him, "Scar, you should know more than anyone I can't do that. I can't hurt you." I pulled away a little and looked back up at him, "So we'll just have to defeat all our enemies before they have the chance to try and turn us against each other, okay?"

Scar quickly pulled me into another embrace. When he pulled away I saw him nod. I smiled back, and we once again started heading back to the others. We were both still sopping wet when we arrived, which Marcoh took immediate notice to.

'Where've you two been? We were starting to worry," he told us.

I chuckled a bit and replied, "Sorry we…had a lot to talk about. And besides, I'm sure Yoki couldn't have cared less about where we were." With a laugh, I also added, "And May knew exactly where we were." I stopped laughing and instead glared accusingly at her. She burst into a fit a near hysterical laughter.

Yoki and Marcoh were clearly confused, I blushed again, but Scar remained stoic. And based off the sound of May's giggling, I knew I'd be in for days, if not weeks, of incessant teasing. With and exhausted sigh, I suggested getting started on the rest of the trip to Ishval. We packed up what little things we had and set off.

Throughout the town, Scar, May, and I watched carefully for any sign of more enemies. After what had happened, none of us wanted to stay for much longer. However, once we made it out of the town, Yoki began his usual rant, Xiao Mei and Lieu started chasing each other and tormenting Yoki, and May turned her sights onto me.

"So cute!" she chirped randomly, "The whole rain thing might have been a bit cliché though."

I glared down at her and said, "Nobody asked you." She ran of laughing and Marcoh walked up next to me.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, you're cheeks are pretty red," Yoki added unexpectedly. I turned away from them and refused to answer until I calmed myself down a bit. I wasn't all that sure why I was getting so flustered. Scar clearly wasn't showing any sign of being effected by anything anyone said, so why was I?

"I'm fine, I think I'm just getting a bit of a cold," I said to shake them off and hope to explain my flushed cheeks. I started walking faster so I could catch up to Scar. With any luck, Yoki and Marcoh's fear of him would keep them away.

When I reached his side, Scar looked down at me. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"I…I don't know. I keep getting all flustered, but I don't know why. I've never been like this before."

"Are you embarrassed."

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no! Not at all! I'm happy, glad, a little surprised and maybe till a bit in shock, but I'm definitely not embarrassed."

"Why are you surprised? Is it because of May?"

"She's certainly part of it," I said while resisting the urge to turn and glare at her for making my life so complicated, "But, I'm more surprised that you actually have feelings for me."

Scar's expression became one of absolute shock. Well, for him it was. For most other people, it would have only been slightly surprised. "I surprised you?"

I nodded and replied, "Yes, though I suspected you might have felt something for me, based on some of your reactions. Still, I didn't think…" I trailed off, not quite sure how to put what I wanted to say into words.

"You didn't think my feelings would be this strong?" he asked. I nodded again, and he continued, "I should have expected that. I spent so long hunting State Alchemists and harboring a hatred of Amestris, you must have thought I hated you too."

"I did," I said flatly, "At first. But, like I said before, your reactions- saving me from Dr. Faust, protecting m from Father, the way you attacked my ex- made me wonder." Scar looked ahead and remained silent. I almost thought I saw the hint of a smile in his eyes, but I wasn't sure. Annoyed by his silence, I took a step closer to him, close enough that my shoulder brushed his arm, and I started to try and coax some humor out of his again. I started telling him stories about stupid things Mustang's done, stupid things Lieu's done, and some just plain dumb things I've done, but nothing worked to bring out the slightest hint of a laugh.

After about twenty minutes I decided to make this a challenge to myself and decided I'd make him at least smile by the time we reached Ishval. Sadly, after about a week long journey, I'd failed miserably. The most emotion he'd displayed was glaring at Yoki when he started to complain about the growing heat brought on by the encroaching desert. And though it was exactly the opposite of what I wanted, I had to be glad the Yoki had finally shut his mouth.

The further we walked, the more sparse the trees and shrubs became. Sand started appearing on the sides of the road and the grass began to grow more dry and brown. As the sand started to pile up, the landscape changed dramatically. The last bit of brush faded away, and blowing dunes surrounded us. The sun beat down, visible in the great waves of heat the bounce off the hills in the distance. The air burned with a dry, unwavering heat. But while Marcoh and Yoki were halted by the dramatic change in climate, the arid land made me feel alive and energetic. I felt like I could run for days without breaking a sweat. We had reached the deserts of Ishval, the one place that would always be my home.

Like me, Scar and May were completely unfazed by the heat. Xiao Mei looked almost as accustomed to it as well, but Lieu's black coat soon had him slumped under the hood of the cloak I hade to wear to stop the sun from scorching my fair skin. The poor thing looked ready to pass out from the heat, but after a about an hour of resting out of the sun, he recovered a bit.

The same couldn't be said about Yoki and Marcoh. I suspected Marcoh would have a hard time keeping up due to his age, but once the heat began to set in, he was gasping for every breath he could get and appeared ready to faint. But unlike Lieu, he had nowhere to rest, and unlike Yoki, he didn't ask to stop constantly. Actually, he didn't once ask for rest, or even that we slow down.

Because I couldn't bare to see him like that, I slowed and stood closer to him instead of Scar. The Ishvalan looked back at me and Marcoh. His face was hard to read, mostly because we were standing several yards apart, but I didn't think he looked angry or annoyed, though he didn't slow down at all.

"Miss Alison, you don't have to fall behind because of me," Marcoh tried to say, but I refused to listen.

"Oh hush, Scar and I grew up in this place, we're used to it. You're not, and I can't sit back and not help you out a bit," I replied. His face told me he was grateful, but his eyes told me he didn't think he deserved my concern. His expression troubled me, despite his past. Maybe Mustang was right, maybe I was too forgiving. Or maybe Hawkeye was right, and I simply a kind person. Honestly, I believed Mustang was right, though I hoped Hawkeye was.

Regardless, soon after entering the desert, I lost all the optimism I'd built up. The road became more defined, though this only slowed Scar's progress through the sands. Buildings, shattered and broken, rose around us. Burned out hulls of a once massive city sat between massive piles of indiscernible rubble. Scattered about, I saw bones off all sizes and tattered bits of cloth that had once belonged to both Amestrian military uniforms and typical Ishvalan civilian attire. Under the destroyed doorway of one partially standing home, I found a small doll that once had been a child's bear. It's fur was singed and dirty, and one eye was missing. I carefully picked up the doll and hugged it against my cheek. The last time I'd seen this city, people were running about, worrying about the war, but not fighting. Almost so softly I couldn't hear it myself, I whispered, "What have we done?"

Footsteps approached behind me, and a gentle yet strong hand rested on my shoulder. I stood and turned to face Scar. My hands fell to my sides, but I didn't drop the doll, even when Scar's own arms pulled me into an embrace. "Maybe you shouldn't have come," he said in an almost sad voice.

I pulled away and replied, "No, I had to come eventually." I looked up at him and the look on his face clearly told me he wished I never had to see these remains. I was a bit surprised to see so much emotion in his features. And it wasn't like normal, when he showed far less emotion then he meant to, his thought were all too clearly written across his face. I tried my hardest to smile and told him, "I'm alright. But I think we should hurry."

He knew my smile was fake, I'm not even sure it would have convinced Yoki, but still he nodded. I walked ahead of him back to the others, still holding the doll. May asked about it, and I told her where I'd found it. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't leave the doll laying in the street, so I held on to it. I remembered the backpack I'd left at Izumi Curtis' house and wished I'd still had it. But I didn't have it, so I tucked the doll under my belt. I heard Yoki saying something about me being weird for keeping it, but the yelp he gave a second later told me Scar wasn't happy with him.

The sun was starting to set by the time we made it to the relatively unharmed section of the city where Daein's research rested. Not many people had lived here before the war, and the ones who had left before anything got too dangerous. This was primarily the reason why Daein had chosen this place to store his notes.

The building he'd worked in was easy enough to find, both Scar and I remembered exactly where it was. But it would soon be too dark to see any of the notes. We didn't have any candles and the lights could almost certainly not have power. Still, we chose to stay in that building for the night.

The air had cooled considerably now that the sun was gone, and I knew Yoki and Marcoh had to find this a miraculous relief. Scar and May made not mention of the change, most likely because they both were used to it. I, however, didn't like it one bit. I loved the sun and the heat, so when both went away I was left cold and shivering.

Scar must have remembered my hatred of Ishvalan nights, because he sat next to me and draped his cloak over my shoulders. By now everyone else was asleep, so I spoke in a whisper, "You can keep this, I'm warm enough with my own," as I started to pull of his cloak.

His hand found mine and stopped me though. "You're shivering," he said. Despite it being well into the night, the full moon illuminated the room just enough for us to see each other.

I knew I wouldn't be able to change Scar's mind, so I used my free hand to wrap both cloaks tighter around me. I was warmer, but I still shivered despite trying to stop myself. "Still cold?" Scar asked. I shook my head and started to say he shouldn't worry about me, but then I felt his arm drape over my shoulders and he pulled me towards him.

"Why won't you let others worry about you?" Scar asked me suddenly.

"I don't really…no, I do know why," I told him. But before I continued, I leaned into him and closed my eyes, vaguely thankful for his warmth. "Everyone's always worrying about me. Normally, that doesn't change anything, but when anything happens to me, they get upset. I don't want anyone to be upset because of me. But, some people, like you or Mustang, fight to protect me when something goes wrong. I don't…I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of me."

I heard Scar move and felt him kiss the top of my head. "Alison, you can't do everything by yourself. You're surrounded by people who care about you, let them worry. When you need help, they'll be there for you. I'll be there. If anything happens to you, I won't get upset, I'll fix it."

"But if you get hurt-" I started, but Scar silenced by putting his thumb in my lips.

"If I get hurt, I have you and May to help me." He was right, I knew he was right. But I still didn't want him worrying. Maybe I'd follow his advice in the morning. I leaned against him again and he pulled me closer. Just before I fell asleep I remembered Scar hadn't said anything about Marcoh being able to help him if he got hurt. I decided it would be best if I didn't mention anything about that though.

When morning came the heat returned and it soon became to stifling for me to wear both cloaks. I sat up to take one off, and I realized I had to sit up. I was laying on the ground when I awoke, so wear was Scar. I looked around the room, a bit scared that he might have run off. I could feel the pounding in my heart stop instantly when I saw him standing in the door way staring out. The look on his face was clearly furious.

I walked up to him, but before I could ask he held out a small slip of paper. I took it and saw a note written on it. At the bottom, the name _Valora_ was drawn to appear as a snake. Seeing the name brought on waves of anger. The note said:

_Missing something, Aurora? Don't doubt the Doctor's resources, he stayed hidden so long for a reason. I found you, I found that scarred man, and I found your past. Many knew of the time you spent here, though none knew why. I visited, and I found. Come to me, in the North near Briggs. There's a warehouse filled with the military. You'll find it. And be sure to bring the scarred man, he will pay, I assure you._

"Who is this?" Scar asked me.

"Dr. Faust. The old woman that turned into the snake-chimera, her name is Valora. Is everything gone? All of Daein's notes?"

"You can look, but I couldn't find anything."

"Maybe…For awhile, he had this chest he wouldn't let me see. Every time I showed up and he had it out, he'd pack everything in it away. I asked, but he never told me what was inside. I snuck in here a few times…more than a few times, but I never found it. Maybe it's still here."

I got up start looking around the building, but May had woken up and she grabbed my arm. "Why did you guys wake up first?" she asked in an annoyed and mocking voice, "Do you have any idea how many jokes I had planned?"

"Huh? Wait, why do you know jokes like that?" May just giggled. I face palmed and sighed. I told her about the missing notes and the chest that may or may not be here. She laughed but started helping Scar and I search. Not long after, Lieu and Xiao Mei joined in followed by Marcoh. Yoki didn't wake up until well after noon.

And before that, I looked over a large wooden desk. I'd always though the desk was nailed into the wall, Daein had said it was nailed in and if there were nails in the back the appeared to be going into the wall behind it. But when I pulled on it, it moved enough to make it obvious it wasn't nailed into anything. I tried pulling the desk back further, but it was big and solid, far too heavy for me to push.

I looked at Scar and smiled. He walked over and pushed the desk out of the way. May and I laughed, and I somehow knew the girl was planning on ways to use Scar's strength to tease him. Maybe I should have just moved the desk myself.

But when I examined the wall behind it and found a section that could be pulled away. I immediately focused on the wall and pulled it open. Inside was the chest Daein had worked so hard to hide. For a second I wondered why he hid for so long, and I thought maybe I shouldn't go through it.

And a second later I was tugging at the lid. Unfortunately, it was locked. Scar and Marcoh started looking around the room for a key, but I stopped them. "This lock doesn't have a key," I told them. Scar looked confused, so I continued, "See these marks, they're what happens when you rush through a transmutation." I stood up and walked over to the desk. A few pencils still rested on it and I took one to draw a simple transmutation circle around the lock. A soft click sounded as the lock shifted.

The lip practically opened itself. I yanked it open and found a small notebook and another box inside. I opened the notebook and found a complicated set of notes that ended with two separate transmutation circles. Looking through the notes brought tears to my eyes and I reached in the chest to grab the other box, already expecting what was inside.

The lid of the box slipped away easily. Inside was a small locket with my name engraved on the front. I opened it and found the only picture Daein and Scar's mother had been lucky enough to take that had all three of us in it. Daein and I were looking over a chart covered in equations and Scar was standing over us with his characteristic angered face. I remembered the say it was taken so clearly. Just after the flash went off Scar's attention snapped to his mother and his anger grew while Daein and I just burst out laughing.

I held the locket over my heart and felt tears fall down my face. May kneel down beside me. "Alison-chan, what's wrong?" I held out the locket for everyone to see.

"These notes…" I started but had to stop so I wouldn't start sobbing. Scar put a hand on my shoulder, and I continued, "These notes detail a set of transmutation circles almost identical to the ones on my gloves. But these offer more direst control over air currents. Scar, do you remember, a bit after I first met you, I talked about wanting to know what it was like to be a bird? I said I wanted to fly. Daein laughed, but with these notes, I might be able to do it." I gave a shaky laugh, but I managed to smile at Scar.

Looking closer, I found the bottom of the box the locket was in could be pulled out. Underneath was a pair of black fingerless gloves that would stretch halfway up my arms. On the back of the hands were two white circles identical to the ones in the notes. I immediately pulled off the gloves I had been wearing and pull on the new ones. They fit perfectly.

"I have to try this out!" I said and grabbed the notebook before running out into the sun. Scar and May followed close behind. I looked through the notes and read a few explanations on how to control the air currents. I needed to wrap the air around my arms and legs then rush air downwards.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Scar asked me.

I shook my head and said, "No, not at all." Both he and May clearly didn't want me to try, but I ignored them. I found an open area and ran to the middle. Focusing on the currents surrounding me, I easily changed their course. Slowly, my feet lifted off the ground. I opened my eyes and felt the smile stretch across my face.

Going a little higher, I started trying to move around. I glided easily but soon lost control and crashed to the ground. Scar was next to me in an instant. I burst out laughing ant\d tied to tell him I was alright.

"Um…what just happened?" Yoki asked.

"Oh, you woke up," I responded. Anger flashed across his face as he explained that he woke up long ago, but I ignored him. I drew a simple circle in the sand on the ground, then placed my hands on my boots. When I pulled them away, identical circles were on the outside heel of each boot.

This time, instead of starting at a standstill, I ran out into the clearing, jumped, and turned so my feet slid across the sand. Using the new circles on my boots, I formed a curved board under my feet that I used to catch air currents. I still had to balance my arms, but the currents under the board were much easier to balance on. I rose quickly and soared through the air.

May was jumping around and laughing, but Scar looked worried, as did Marcoh. Yoki just looked amazed. Lieu and Xiao Mei were running around beneath me. I laughed and let out a cheer before landing, a bit harshly, in front of everyone. "That was amazing!" I cheered.

"Can you really control yourself?" Scar asked, trying to hide his relief that I returned safely.

"Yeah! Perfectly!" I laughed again. May came up next to me and cheered along. She asked to see me do it one more time, so I did. About an hour later, I managed to convince May that it was time to stop. We needed to go after Valora. She was upset, but didn't argue too much. Long before the sun began to set, we were well on our way out of Ishval to go beat Daein's notes out of Valora.

(Author's Note: Yay, done! Sorry again, I think I almost have Final Fantasy beat…after about a week. I beat FFX in about five days once, and I was very proud ^^ Next time: more snakes (much to Scar's dismay) and Alison absolutely hates cold weather…it'll be fun ^O^ )


	26. And Even More Snakes

(Author's Note: YAY IT'S DONE! Hours after I planned ,^^ Well, I tried. And would someone please let my mom know it's completely normal for a teenager to stay locked in her ice cold bedroom for hours a day during the middle of an abnormally hot summer…

And thank you so much, DoctorWhotaliaandtheOlympians!

And Fayre Eternity, I UPLOADED ^O^ It's way later that I thought…time zones confuse the hell outta me, so I desperately hope I managed to get this uploaded on time )

I regretted leaving the wonderful warmth of Ishval. The farther north we went, the colder it got. And when I was up in the air, surrounded by clouds, I could almost see my breath. But after the incident two days ago, everyone felt safer having a pair of eyes watching for more ambushes.

Two days ago, the rain had been pouring down. Because of the terrible weather, I couldn't practice the new alchemy I found. It had been nearly a week since finding those notes, and I'd spent little time on the ground. May joined me a few times, but Scar refused every time I asked. And while May and I were in the air, we came up with the idea that Scar was afraid of heights and then we proceeded to dream up an elaborate story as to why.

But the day it rain passed slowly. May and I worked on our story a bit, but May soon began to worry Scar would hear what we were talking about. I didn't think he'd do anything more than glare, but I did agree that angering him wasn't a good idea, though I phrased this statement to sound like a joke.

However, all joking stopped when May tensed and Lieu and Xiao Mei hissed towards the forests towards our left. The fur along Lieu's back was standing straight up, and May whispered, "Chimeras."

Scar and I immediately prepared for a fight. I pulled the kusarigama from a loop on my belt and started swinging it in a small circle by my side. All at once, at least a dozen various chimeras charged for us. I yelled towards May, telling her to stay by Marcoh and Yoki, and swung my kusarigama at the crowd and quickly wounded several. Because it was raining so hard, my explosions wouldn't have nearly enough force to cause harm, and I couldn't risk casting any lightning. If the sparks traveled through water like they do through iron, I'd most likely just end up hurting my friends.

So for now, I had to stick to using my sickle. But I was definitely handicapped. The chimeras I had first struck were only wounded and had quickly resumed their attack. I cut down two and used my chain to pull another aside before it could reach me. I twirled my kusarigama again, but this time I was using it as more of a shield than anything. There were simply too many chimeras for me to handle.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw what looked like a cross between a tiger and some kind of lizard. I ran towards me and clawed at me. I turned to try and at least parry it's blow, but I was a second too late. My weapon was knocked from my hands, and both my hands were gashed.

Along with the tiger-lizard, three other chimeras approached, ready to pounce. One rushed, but I easily dodged the clumsy attack. But as I did, two more chimeras attacked simultaneously. I ducked under one, but the other bit deep into my right leg. Swallowing a cry of pain and countered with a swift kick. The chimera yelped and I pulled my leg away from its open jaws.

My kick barely seemed to bother the chimera at all, though. All four were still very ready to kill me. But with my hands and leg injured, I knew I couldn't fight anymore. I could barely move my leg, so there was no chance of me dodging. Unless I could duck, but that would only stop one chimera at best. Sweat ran down my face and I gulped as I watched the four chimera circle me.

One pounced and I turned away and shut my eyes, waiting to feel its attack. But it never reached me. I opened my eyes and saw Scar finish off the last chimera. I fell to my knees a breathed a sigh of relief. My heart was thundering in my chest as I thought about how close I had come to being killed. I shivered violently until I felt Scar's hands rest on my arms. He looked like he was about to say something, but he was drowned out by May's frantic calling.

"Alison-chan, Alison-chan! Are you okay?" she cried.

"Um, no. Not really," I said shakily. Even as I spoke, May was running towards me and drawing her simple transmutation circle on the ground near me. I shifted so my leg and both hands were in the circle and watched as my wounds grew shut. Once she was done, I stood and turned to Scar. "Much better now," I said and smiled. The look in his face was somewhere between relief, worry, and anger, though the relief and worry were so hard to pick out that I'm sure no one else had seen them.

Marcoh had been scratched in the assault, but May had already treated him. So, soon after the fight had ended we were heading down the road again. This time, however, we were far more cautious. I took the lead while Scar trailed a few feet behind where May and the others were walking directly in the center of the two of us. That night, Scar and I took turns keeping watch.

Scar opted to take the first watch and, like most nights, he and I were the last ones awake. I tried talking to him a few times, but he appeared lost in thought and would only give single word answers to anything I said. I felt a bit worried about him, so before falling asleep kneeled behind him and wrapped my arms around him. He placed his hand on my wrists, but remained silent. Sighing, I pulled away and laid down to rest.

Though Scar said we'd both take turns keeping watch, it was well after sunrise when I was finally awoken. I tried to ask why he'd stayed up the whole night, but he stopped me and acted as if the night had gone as planned. Though the others thought he was acting normal, I couldn't help but be worried.

Because of this, and because I thought whatever was on his mind would distract him in a fight, I opted to use the new alchemy I'd found to keep a bird's-eye view over everyone. When I was up so high, I could easily keep a look out for any more ambushes. And thanks to May's spectacular Alkahestry I was able to take off immediately. However, much to my dismay, Scar didn't object or approve this idea. Well, he did nod, but from the look on his face it was impossible to tell whether or not he really did approve.

But I still left to keep watch. I took a running start and skidded my heels across the ground, using the circles on my boots to create a curved board. As soon as the board had formed, I used the new and improved circles on my gloves to launch a gust of wind under and around me. The wind pushed me into the air where it was easy to rise higher and ride the currents.

The temperature dropped considerably, but it wasn't unbearable until a few days later when the rich greens of surrounding forests gave way to rockier landscapes and snow tipped mountains. I put up with the cold until I could see my breath coming in solid clouds in front in me. I wanted to watch for more enemies, but frigid weather was just too much for me to bear. ***

Scar heard Alison discuss her plans of taking flight in order to keep an eye out. He agreed with her plans, it would prepare him for future ambushes and keep her safer as well, but he didn't react. Or rather, he couldn't react. His thoughts were completely occupied. The ambush from the previous day had shaken him.

Though the beasts had been easy enough to take down, the sheer number of them had become a great problem, particularly for Alison. Scar had watched her fight out of the corner of his eye. When her hands had been injured and she was unable to lift her weapon, he had begun to feel the same fear he'd felt in the underground lair of the Homunculi. He was afraid Alison would die.

As soon as he'd finished off the last of his attackers, he immediately headed for her and destroyed her opponents. The look in her eyes after the fight had finished told him she had been sure she would die. May had been there to heal her wounds, but not before he had seen how badly she had been hurt.

All this happened two days after he swore he'd protect her. He was furious with himself for not being able to do anything before she had been hurt. It seemed to him she was hurt in almost ever fight they were in. And it was because of this thought that he wanted to think of so way to keep her save from now on. He thought about sending her away with Yoki and Marcoh, both of whom normally tried to hide and completely avoid fights seeing as neither had any combat ability, but he knew that would only anger her. And she's see right through any act he tried to put on in order to convince her to leave the fight.

But while he was so caught up in these thoughts outside of any fights, while there were chimeras to stop he was completely focused. Alison would warn the group of impending danger by releasing a few explosions on the group of ambushers. Scar and May would head for the explosions and Alison would land ready to fight. As soon as she would arrive, Scar was by her side, watching her back. No matter how many enemies attacked the duo, none could harm either foe. A fact May found entirely amusing.

Then the temperature fell and traces of snow began to dot the ground. When Alison landed unexpectedly in the middle of the afternoon, Scar knew exactly what she was about to say.

Through blue, shivering lips she snapped, "N-no, I'm d-d-done. I'm n-not s-s-spending another m-minute in this damned c-c-c-c-…_cold_!" She folded her arms across her chest and shivered violently.

"It's not that cold." Yoki responded, but this earned him an immediate, intense to the point of being lethal, glare from her.

"The higher you go, the colder it gets!" May chimed in, possible saving Yoki's life.

Alison nodded sharply, still shivering. Scar shook his head and wrapped his cloak around her shoulders. Instead of insisting she didn't need it, like she normally would, she wrapped herself in the warm cloth.

Fortunately, it seemed as if the chimeras were as affected by the cold as Alison. Long before the snow first frosted the ground, all ambushes had stopped.

For the next few days, travel was slow and quite. Alison gradually drifted closer to Scar as she began cursing the cold with more and more eloquence. While she was doing so, Marcoh had started to suspect there may be something going on between the two. He spoke of his suspicion to May, but that only ended in her falling into a fit of laughter. Yoki has oblivious to all of this, mostly because he was entirely focused on the ice crystals forming on the end of his nose.

As the weather became increasingly frigid and icy, Alison became sure she would freeze to death. Fortunately, almost immediately after she proclaimed this fact, a group of Amestrian soldiers came walking down the road towards her and her friends. Each soldiers was wearing a full set of winter gear including thick coats, snow boots, anf fur-lined gloves. It didn't take long for Alison to knock all three soldiers unconscious.

"It's so _warm_!" she cried when she tugged on the smallest soldier's coat. She the took the largest coat and handed it to Scar, but he insisted he wasn't cold. Instead, Yoki snatched the coat out of her hands. She turned to glare at him again while handing the last coat to Marcoh. Because May was far too small to fit into ant of the gear, Alison used alchemy to change her cloak into appropriately sized garments.

Now much warmer, the group set off once again. As they came closer to the area specified by Valora's note, the amount of military personnel increased dramatically. And soon enough, a large military facility came into view. Soldiers marched in and out, making the idea that this was just one big trap set by the snake-chimera and remarkably strong possibility.

A large van sat off the side of the road several yards before the entrance to the facility, which with closer observation proved to be a train station. When Scar and company walked close to the van, a loud hissing filled the air. A man whose waist flowed into a scaly, brown and gold snake tail crawled out from behind the vehicle.

"Ride the train, Valora awaits," the chimera said before retreating back behind the van.

Alison ran after him shouting, "Hey, wait!" but when she rounded the back of the ran, the chimera was nowhere to be seen. Scar appeared behind her, but her also couldn't see where the chimera had gone, despite there being only fields of unbroken snow. "Where'd he…oh well, c'mon, let's go get that train!"

"We need a plan," Scar said, effectively ruining the Alison's attempt at setting the mood. Slightly annoyed, she nodded and started putting together a plan.

But before she came up with anything solid, a car surrounded by armed soldiers on horseback approached the facility. When the car reached the gates, one of the guards said, "Solf J. Kimblee, permission to enter granted."

At the sound of his name Alison visibly tensed, her face became a mask of pure rage. "Okay, I know how we're getting in.," she said darkly, "Scar, you and Yoki draw the guards. Once they're distracted, May can take Marcoh in. There shouldn't be any reason for Kimblee to be free. I know the Fuehrer is a Homunculi, so they probably have something to do with him being out. Yoki, you'll play Marcoh and draw Kimblee to the train. Scar, you and I will deal with him, then we'll get Daein's notes back."

"You're sure he's the one who killed my brother?" Scar asked.

Alison nodded and replied, "I have no doubt."

"Then let's go," Scar finished. He, Yoki, and Alison headed for the main gates. Scar touched his right hand to the ground and caused an explosion of snow. Giant white clouds billowed out towards the guards. While they were blinded, Alison knocked one unconscious while Scar killed the other. Still under the snow-cloud cover, everyone headed inside.

May immediately took Yoki off to the side, searching for an easy way onto the train. Scar and Yoki headed for the train car Kimblee had boarded. Alison said she'd go help May and Marcoh, then return to aide Scar.

As soon as Scar and Yoki neared the train, Kimblee caught sight of them. They boarded easily, Kimblee following close behind. Scar soon disappeared in the growing darkness, but Yoki was easy to spot, though Kimblee thought the hooded figure was in fact Dr. Marcoh.

Yoki made it through two car before Kimblee stopped him. Yoki broke into a run, but he was far too slow. "I have you now, Dr. Mar-" Kimblee started, but when he turned the man around, Yoki's terrified face greeted him.

_Who?_ Kimblee thought half a moment before Scar struck out at him. The Red Lotus Alchemist dodged.

"So you're the rumored Ishvalan? Word has it you've been traveling with a friend of mine, but he doesn't seem to be here. And little Alison, I should've known she'd pulla stunt like attacking the Fuehrer after seeing her face when I told her about that friend of hers. The utter grief, it was _priceless!_" he finished with a sneer. Instead of verbally answering, Scar attacked once more. Kimblee managed to dodge, but it was obvious the Ishvalan was enraged and would now fight with beastly ferocity. Seeing him this way, thought, brought back memories of the Isvhalan War. Kimblee remembered seeing Scar before, and he remembered the ones that had been following him, and he remembered the one who had been Alison's friend.

The Red Lotus Alchemist jumped back, created a space several feet long between the two fighters. "I remember the faces of those who interest me, and you were certainly interesting," Kimblee started. "But if I recall correctly, there were others around you, your family, I presume. Yes, there was one man who look just like you, but that man wore glasses. I remember he had a terrible wound on his left side, it looked dreadfully painful," he finished with a laugh.

As he was speaking, Alison had been making her way towards the car the car in which the two were fighting. She arrived just in time to here Kimblee mention Daein and the wound he had suffered. At the sound of the Red Lotus Alchemist's laugh, she nearly charged at him, kusarigama drawn and ready to kill.

Scar saw her approach the doorway and saw rage contort her features. He knew she wanted nothing more than to kill the Amestrian before her. But Scar also knew if she did succeed in killing this man, the guilt would destroy her. He knew she was far too kind to kill.

So just before she would have attacked, he attacked instead. Allowing the full rage he felt from Kimblee's words overcome him, Scar unleashed a fury of punches and kicks that left the Amestrian stumbling through half successful dodges and more than a few blocks that nearly left him in the mercy of Scar's destruction alchemy.

_I've been in jail too long, my body's weakened,_ Kimblee thought, _has this man been fighting even after the war? _As if to emphasize this thought, he just barely managed to duck under Scar's right hand. The wall of the train car exploded into a cloud of dust. Then a smirk formed across his lips. _But ultimately, he can only destroy._

Under the cover of dust, Scar grabbed a broken piece of pipe and ran his right hand over one end, destroying just enough to form a lethally sharp edge. He threw the pipe at Kimblee and it impaled the left side of his stomach.

"The left side, was it?" Scar said as he walked towards the fallen Amestrian, "I will not give you time to pray to God."

"What a pity…," Kimblee started, "that I let the same Ishvalan escape twice." He clapped his hands together and Scar, anticipating this attack, jumped back out of the way of the impending explosion. He overshot his jump though, propelled by the force of the blast, and was about to fall from the train as the car behind him, the one Alison was in, fell from the destroyed car Scar had been standing in. He was ready to run for her once he landed, but then thin arms wrapped around him and he felt something solid form under his feet.

"Hold still!" Alison called, "And don't look down!" Scar quickly focused on the smoke coming from the engine in order to avoid looking at the ground speeding away below. He felt nervous being in the air held up by nothing more than a thin metal plate. Fortunately, he soon felt a slight jolt as he and Alison touched down onto the train.

Alison looked around, seeming to assure herself that she landed safely on the train. Once she was sure, she shot her fist into the air and yelled, "I did it!"

"What do you mean?" Scar asked, slightly anxious.

Alison laughed nervously and replied, "You're a lot bigger than May, so I was a bit worried I wouldn't be able to go high enough…" Scar glared and she chuckled again. "Ah…c'mon, let's go get the others. May and Marcoh are in that car," she pointed to a train car three ahead of the one she was standing on, "Wait, where's Yoki?"

"H-here," he muttered shakily. He crawled up from the car in front of them, obviously still terrified from Scar and Kimblee's fight. Alison laughed again, but this time her laugh was condescending and cheerful.

The three walked up the train to join back up with the others. Not long after they met up, an overly large warehouse appeared off to the side of the tracks. A large mural covered one wall. Depicted was a snake coiled around a man. A red 'X' was painted over the man's face. Both Alison and Scar took this as a definite sign Valora would be waiting inside.

Snow completely covered the ground between the train and the warehouse, so everyone jumped. Well, Alison had to drag Yoki, but everyone made it safely. The snow was deep, Alison carried May, so it took nearly half an hour for the group to reach the warehouse.

Halfway there, Alison began panting heavily. Scar looked at her in concern, but she insisted she was fine. In answer, Scar plucked May out of her arms. "What am I, a doll?" May complained. But Alison's breathing didn't slow, and she soon began wheezing terribly. Scar handed May off to Marcoh, earning more protests from the girl, and instead carried Alison.

"Scar…I'm fine," she said between breathes. "It's just cold…I don't like the cold," she tried to say.

"Alison-chan, you need to rest!" May told her firmly. Alison sighed, but didn't argue further. Besides, Scar's arms were warm.

The warehouse approached the group like a fortress. Metal walls towered overhead, and large steel door sat open to the night. Scar set Alison down and approached cautiously, but the sound of May's scream made him turn immediately.

Alison had collapsed. Scar was about to head towards her, but a cynical, cackling laugh sounded behind him. Once again, he turned. Valora stood, half snake half woman, holding a pile of off-white powder in her hand. She blew on the pile, and Marcoh clutched his head in pain.

Seeing Alison's state and feeling his own pain, Marcoh quickly guess what the powder was doing. "Scar, this powder is effected by Amestrian Alchemy, it disables the nervous system! Alison can't breathe!"

As soon as the words left the doctor's mouth, Scar was in front of Valora, right arm raised and ready to strike. The chimera jumped out of the way, scattering the rest of the powder into the wind. "She stopped breathing!" May cried.

Scar growled and charged at Valora again. Half a dozen snake-chimeras flung themselves at Scar, but he brought them all down easily, his fear of snakes forgotten in his desperation to save the woman he loved.

Valora slithered back, eyes wide with fear. She had underestimated Scar, lethally underestimated him. His hand curled around her throat as he pinned her against the wall of the warehouse. "I need a cure, _now!"_ he snapped.

Stuttering, the chimera told him she had a vial of medicine that would cancel out the powder's effects. She added that she kept the vial in case Dr. Faust inhaled to much and it affected him, but she'd forgotten about it in the months since he'd first developed the dust. Seeing the fear in the chimera's eyes, Scar knew she was telling the truth. He threw her to the ground, taking the vial from her hand in the process, and ran for Alison.

Before he got far Valora's tail caught his wrist, fear forgotten in one last attempt to bring the man down. But he grabbed her trail, pulled her back, and grabbed her face in his right hand. The chimera fell to the ground, dead. Scar ran to Alison.

Barely a minute had passed since May's frantic cry, but the girl had been right. When Scar reached Alison, she was still. His heart skipped a beat as he kneeled beside her. May was crying, and Lieu and Xiao Mei were sitting around her head. Marcoh looked at Scar in hope, and even Yoki looked worried.

Scar held Alison up, resting her head on the bend of his elbow, and tilted the contents of the vile between her open lips. Seconds passed painfully slow while he waited for anything to change. After nearly thirty seconds went by, Alison started coughing and panting. She calmed soon and glanced up at Scar, "What happened?" she asked softly.

Relief flooded through Scar's veins and he pulled her against his chest, wrapped both arms around her. "Scar, what happened?" Alison asked again, this time with a much stronger voice.

"You stopped breathing," May chirped cheerfully, "But Scar-san saved you!"

"Um…okay?" Alison muttered, "Wait, what happened to Valora? Daein's notes!" She pushed herself out of Scar's arms and ran towards the warehouse, her breathing difficulty completely cured and, for her, completely forgotten.

Her running slowed when she found Valora's body, but she ran around it without stopping. A chest sat in the middle of the building. Inside it was a single badly worn notebook. Alison opened it cautiously, leafing through the pages. What she found astounded her.

(Author's Note: yay done J P.S. Fayre Eternity started a Scar fanfic today! I HIGHLY recommend! and can't wait for more :3 )


	27. Briggs

(Author's Note: YAY! I finished! I took forever, I'm sorry T.T Grrr, I need to FOCUS…ooh, a squirrel! I have a problem….

BUT! Thank you so much Drwhotaliaandtheyolympians!

And of course Fayre Eternity! ^O^ Thank you for yelling at me until I update….I need the influence ^-^ )

Scar walked past the massive doors of the warehouse for the tenth time. He'd spent the past hour searching the building for any sign of more chimeras hiding, but he had yet to find a trace. Looking out past the doors, he saw nothing more than an unbroken field of snow. For the moment, no enemies remained in the area. But still Scar patrolled.

Twice in the past week he'd almost lost Alison, and he wasn't about to let any danger approach her now. She was transfixed on the notes contained in the chest, and he was intent on seeing her remain that way until she deciphered his brother's work.

He was worried about the powder Valora had used, but Alison didn't appear to be having anymore difficulty. Marcoh's headache hadn't gone away yet, but May was sitting next to Alison, and the girl hadn't mentioned anything being wrong.

After passing the doors yet again, Scar decided he needed to stop wandering aimlessly through the warehouse. There was nothing inside it that could hurt Alison. He stepped outside and began scouting for more chimeras, or any soldiers that might have caught on to their trail.

After not even five minutes of scouting, Scar saw two soldiers spy on the warehouse. As he got closer he heard hints of their conversation. They had been sent to apprehend the Ishvalan, Marcoh, and Alison.

Scar approached them from behind and knocked them both unconscious before they even knew he was there. Picking up the binoculars one soldier had been using, he found that the soldiers had a perfect view of Alison, Marcoh, and May working on his brother's notes. He threw the binoculars to the ground in a fit of rage. Everyone needed to leave, now.

He began the walk back to the warehouse, but before he got far, Alison ran out through the doors and waved at him, calling for him to come back. Despite the distance, Scar thought he saw fear on her face, so he ran to her. ***

Daein's notes had all been stored in a pretty large chest, despite the only thing inside it being a smaller notebook. But despite the size, and knowing Daein, all of his notes were there. He would have summarized most of his work and put it in the book to make running away with it easier.

And I knew these were his notes. Almost everything was written in an old form of Ishvalac. Both May and Marcoh were lost looking at the strange characters, but I had grown up learning this language. Therefore I had to spend the better part of the next hour translating everything. I wasn't fun, but not long after I started Marcoh began picking up the meaning of some of the characters, and soon he was able to help a bit. And I was grateful, I was able to get much more work done with his help.

Once everything was in a language we all understood, May, Marcoh, and I set about trying to figure out what it all meant. Two loose papers caught my eye. One was a map of Amestris, and the other was a list of cities. I recognized every city as a place where there had been an excessively bloody conflict. I looked at the map again, and found that every city was on it and marked with a circle.

As I examined the cities' placements on the map, I began to notice a pattern. I took a pencil and lightly traced a line that connected them. Almost as soon as I began, I knew the cities mapped a transmutation circle. Marcoh looked to see what I was doing, and I heard him gasp.

"Miss Alison, that circle is used to make a Philosopher's Stone," the doctor said urgently.

"What?" I asked in disbelief. "Marcoh, every event on this list was a military offensive that resulted in massive amounts of unnecessary bloodshed. If you're sure, then that means the military, no probably the Homunculi are using an entire country to make a stone."

"This entire country?" May asked. I nodded, and then I remembered something else.

"That 'Father' guy, he called me, and the Elrics, sacrifices. Both brothers have preformed human transmutation, and I know how. Al told me about the 'Doors of Truth'. He said they contain all the knowledge of the world, or something like that, and I know Gluttony is a failed attempt at creating the Doors of Truth." I looked to Marcoh and he nodded, assuring me that what I was saying was correct. "Do you think Father might be trying to…steal that knowledge?"

The doctor nodded, "And they need an enormously strong Philosopher's Stone to do it."

"We need to stop them!" May cried, "I don't want Alison-chan to be a sacrifice!"

May's frantic concern had me laughing a bit, but I wanted to calm her so I said, "Don't worry, we won't let them do this. Besides, what do you think Scar'll do when we tell him I'm a sacrifice?" May's fear vanished in a fit of laughter.

"He'll blow up the Homunculi!" May cheered.

"But what about this other stuff?" Marcoh asked and pointed to a transmutation circle drawn on several pages and loose sheets of paper.

"It looks like…the Philosopher's Stone circle, but in reverse. If the Homunculi managed to get their transmutation started, this circle will stop it." I stood slowly, then continued, "I'm going to go get Scar."

I walked to the doors of the warehouse and saw Scar standing over two collapsed soldiers. I assumed the lack of red snow meant they were still alive, but the moment Scar saw me he began running towards me. "Alison, are you alright? You look frightened," he said.

"Huh?" I asked, before realizing I was afraid. I put on a brave face for May and Marcoh, but becoming a sacrifice and just thinking about what the Homunculi planned for entire country had me terrified. "Yes, I suppose I am frightened," I told him. I grabbed his hand and started pulling him in the warehouse. We went to sit beside May and Marcoh, and I began telling Scar what we found.

He sat quiet while I talked, but the growing anger in his eyes told me he was listening intently. When I finished, he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "You will not be sacrificed."

I smiled and at him and rested my hand on his. "Thank you," I told him sincerely, "but I'm more worried about Amestris. I want to show this to the Elric brothers. Both of them have seen the Doors of Truth, so they'll know more about his than any of us."

But Scar wasn't happy with the idea. "Why fight for a country that has turned against you? Or did you forget that you're wanted for attacking Bradley?"

"I didn't forget," I snapped angrily, "but I can't just abandon everyone who lives here! Besides, if the Homunculi go through with this, everyone will die. In East City alone I know of a dozen small settlements of Ishvalans. Will you sit by and watch them all lose their lives for nothing?"

"I'll take them and leave this country. As long as where outside of that circle, we will not be harmed," he responded, anger clear in his tone.

But my voice was angrier, and firmer. "I will not leave. I will fight to defend Amestris, my home, or I will die trying." Rage filled Scar's face, bit for only a moment I saw a strong plea fill his eyes. But I wasn't about to let Mustang, Hawkeye, or any of my other friends be killed.

And Scar saw that I wasn't going to change my mind, but still he said, "Then how will you find the brothers? Will you go back to Central? You'll be walking right into the hands of the Homunculi."

"No, I probably won't have to return to Central," I replied, "The Elric brothers are always traveling. They never stay in one place for too long, so chances are they aren't even near the city anymore. But Ed is famous and Al is hard to hide. Where ever they go, people will talk. Word will spread, even somewhere as far north as here. I'll find them, without going to Central."

Scar and I stared each other down for what seemed like forever. Every time I got into an argument with my ex, I'd give in just to avoid a fight. But this was one fight I could not lose. Yet after nearly ten minutes, he still would not relent. I knew I had to do something to force his hand.

"Scar, I cannot do this alone. I know I won't stand a chance. I need your help, or will you watch me die too."

My words had an immediate effect on him and he said, "I won't let you die."

"Then fight with me. Help me protect my home." Reluctantly. Scar nodded.

"Then we should leave. Those soldiers know we're here, and they're not dead. Alison, do you know if a town is nearby?"

"Um…I don't know…but that station must have been at the foot of the Briggs Mountains, so I think there might possibly be a small city close by. It's a bit tiny, but still heavily populated so we should be able to hide easily." Scar nodded and turned to the large open doors. I smiled and cheered, "Alright, let's go! Oh, someone wake up Yoki." Lieu took the liberty of jumping on Yoki's head and scratching up his face.

The small man screamed in pain, though my cat's scratches didn't even draw blood, before he shot up and out of the building. He only stopped running when he stumbled upon the two unconscious soldiers. He stuttered to a stop, then turned tail and dashed back into the warehouse.

Before he returned, Scar had already begun leaving and I followed close behind. Yoki looked at us in confusion, but when May and Marcoh followed after us he sighed and reluctantly followed as well.

I turned to make sure everyone was following and alright, and I saw May walking just behind me. "Alison-chan, are you going to be okay?"

Smiling, I told her, "Of course. There's no way I'd die that easily." After I spoke, I occurred to me that May could have been talking about what might happen to Amestris, or about me blacking out earlier. Hopefully, I answered both questions. But May still looked worried, so I added softly, "Besides, you know Scar won't let anything happen to me."

At the mention of his name, Scar turned to look back at us, but as if on instinct we both smiled cheerfully until he turned around. Once safe, May started giggling furiously. I chuckled along with her, happy to see her worries were gone for the moment.

I soon took lead, eager to be out of the warehouse and on the road again. Not long after we left, a road appeared and with it the city I had mentioned. As I said, we were easily able to enter and disappear in the dense crowd of people. May ran off to find a place for us to stay, and after only a few minute she returned and lead us to an abandoned house on the edge of town.

Things were quiet as we al settled down to rest for awhile. Or they were, until my stomach started growling. May laughed at me, but Scar stood an announced he'd search for food. He left before I could offer to join him. I would have followed, but May wanted me to stay with her. I watched him go, hoping he'd be back soon.

Suddenly, I heard a loud crash from outside the house. I ran to see what was happening, with May and Marcoh close behind. We were greeted by Alphonse Elric picking his older brother out of a trash can. ***

Scar picked his way through the city, easily hiding his face. Alison had certainly been right, not a single person singled him out or took notice to him. He was free to roam the city as he pleased. But what he truly wanted was to be back with Alison.

But she was hungry, and he wanted to help her. A man walk out of his house, so Scar thought he'd see if the house was empty. Fortunately, it was. Inside, he found the man had an abundant supply of vegetables and meats. He started gathering up some of the food, but a growl sounded behind him.

He turned to see two uniformed Amestrian soldiers standing in the doorway. "The Northern Army has sharp noses," the Ishvalan murmured.

"Unfortunately, we're from the Central Army," the darker skinned soldier answered.

"Come, Kimblee is waiting," the paler soldier said.

"Do you really think two soldiers could make me do anything?" Scar asked, his patience obviously nonexistent.

"No, we don't think two ordinary soldiers could do any match you," the paler soldier responded as he took off his glasses. "If we were _ordinary humans_ that is."

Even as he spoke, both soldiers began to transform in to half animal forms. The paler resembled a spiked lizard, and the darker appeared to be a bloated frog. "Chimeras, huh?" Scar said, right hand raised and ready for a fight, "interesting." Before the chimeras could react, he charged at the frog. But his attack was easily dodged.

_He's fast and fat,_ Scar thought as the frog continued to dodge his attacks. At one point, the frog jumped back away and spit globs of drool at the Ishvalan. He dodged them with ease, but was almost caught by surprise when needles flew through the air from the direction of the lizard. Scar jumped out of the way quickly.

"If you can't touch us, your attacks aren't scary at all," the frog said confidently, "you can't attack from a long distance. If I keep my distance, you can't hurt me. And…" he started as Scar reached for the ground, ready to blow away the concrete in order to escape, "I've already learned of your habit of destroying your footing when you want to find a way out," the chimera finished as he shot another glob of drool that connected with Scar's lowered right hand. He tried to pull away, but he was stuck fast.

Three spikes shot through the air and pierced through Scar's left arm. He growled in pain and looked towards the snickering lizard chimera. "We'll just keep attacking you while keeping our distance. You'll be all ragged and worn when we take you to Kimblee."

Just as the chimeras prepared to launch another attack, the Elric brother's arrived. Almost immediately, they began attacking the chimeras relentlessly. Edward fought the frog, and he just started laughing manically after landing a few hits. "Nothern automail is so _light_!" the older Elric cheered before smashing his metal fist onto the frog's face.

But because of the lighter automail, Ed's attack didn't do nearly as much damage as he'd planned. The frog was quickly back on his feet, spitting globs of drool towards the Elric. One caught him on his right elbow. "My saliva can't be shaken of so easily," the frog said in an attempt to sound confident.

Unfortunately for him, Ed immediately turned the attack against the chimera by deconstructing the drool and splattering it against the frog's back. The Elric then grabbed his younger brother against the chimera's back. "'If-you-touch cold-metal-with-a-wet-hand-you'll-get-stuck-to-it' Attack!" Ed yelled.

Alphonse protested, but Ed was already after the other chimera. He quickly knocked the lizard unconscious and Al did the same to the frog before pulling the chimera off his armor.

Meanwhile, Scar was focused on the drool trapping him. He'd heard the older Elric say the drool was just water, so Scar tried using water destruction. His hand easily came free as water splashed and froze to the ground. He stood and saw both Elrics looking at him. "So the dogs of the military have come after me again," he murmured.

"Why won't you just get captured already?" Ed asked in an irritated voice. Al nodded in support of his brother.

"I can't get captured now, I have something I must do," Scar replied, thinking of Alison's plea for his help.

"Then we'll have to take you by force," Alphonse said. The older Elric charged at the Ishvalan, and he easily caught Ed's metal punch on his right hand.

"Your right arm of steel is done for," Scar growled. But his destruction did nothing. Ed arm's remained fully intact. The Northern automail wasn't made of steel.

"That was bait," the older Elric snickered. He brought his left leg back and kicked hard at Scar's right. The Ishvalan jumped back. He was unsure, but he thought the metal guard on the Elric's shin had caused the bone in his leg to fracture. ***

-About half an hour ago-

Al quickly pulled his brother out of the trash can. May, Marcoh, and I ran out to see if he was alright. Alphonse saw us first, mostly because Ed was busy picking trash out of his braid, and when he noticed May, he ran to her saying, "May, I'm so happy we found you!"

May stopped in her tracks and her cheeks blushed crimson red. She looked like she would faint, and I hand to run behind her to catch her before she hit the ground. I heard her trying to mutter something about Al wanting to find her.

Ed had finished cleaning out his braid and pointed to May, asking, "What's wrong with her?" But his eyes drifted up to me and his face became a mask of rage, "Wait, what are you doing here? Is Scar nearby?"

He glared furiously at me, but I answered, "Right now it appears I'm stopping May from falling on her face." Ed's harsh stare didn't lighten though, so I continued, "And no, Scar isn't nearby. He left," I finished simply, wanting to leave the Elrics guessing about where Scar was. I didn't think they'd hurt, but they would want to hand him over to the military, and they would hurt him.

I kept my face straight as Ed continued to snarl. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Marcoh cast me a worried glance, but I didn't want to break my stare with Ed. I knew the Elric felt betrayed by my involvement with Scar, and I wanted to show him I stood by my decisions.

Thankfully, Al was there to interrupt us. He pointed out Marcoh and expressed relief that the doctor was alright, but he was confused as to why Marcoh was so far north. The doctor began explaining his imprisonment and how Scar and I rescued him. He didn't go into detail about how we faked hi death, but he did express doubt as to whether the Homunculi believed the scene. Once he was done with that, he and I showed the Elric's Scar's brother's notes. May had woken up by now, and finished off our speech by asking why Al was looking for her.

The younger Elric said he too suspected Amestris was going to become a giant transmutation circle, and he wanted to know if Alkahestry could stop it. We started to discuss this topic, but an explosion near us stole our attention. Ed immediately assumed the commotion was caused by Scar, and he reminded his brother they were supposed to me capturing him. Before I could react, they were racing towards the smoking building.

I moved as fast as I could to chase after them, with May and surprisingly Marcoh following close behind. But the brothers had and astonishing lead on us. By the time we reached the entrance to the building, which I assumed was a house, a fight had already started. I saw Ed kick Scar's leg, and after the Elric pulled away I noticed a metal shin guard strapped to his leg.

I started to run after Scar, but Marcoh stopped me. "If you in there now, you'll make the situation worse. Think, the Elric's won't kill him, but if you try to protect him you'll just drag out the fight," he told me sharply. I struggled against Marcoh's unexpectedly strong grip on my arm, but I knew he was right.

I watched as Scar thrust his hand towards the ground and destroyed the floor. Using the confusion, Scar charged for the boys. At that moment, Winry appeared from around a corner and ran for the doorway. She didn't noticed Marcoh, May, or me in her rush to find the Elrics.

Just before Scar would have struck, Ed saw Winry appear in the doorway. Fearing she would be in danger, the boys rushed Scar and pinned him to the ground. Ed transmuted an arm\long cuff made from the stone floor to trap Scar's right arm. He struggled against the trap, but it was impossible to remove his arm.

Once again, I tried to run for him, but a dark-skinned officer followed by two lower ranked soldiers entered the house. The officer pulled out a gun and pointed it towards Scar, announcing he was going to arrest the Ishvalan. Just like before, Marcoh grabbed me and said, "They don't want to kill him! Go in and you'll get shot!"

"But…" is started, knowing yet again he was right, but I didn't get the chance to argue more, because Winry started walking towards Scar. Ed protested furiously, but the girl ignored him. She said something, and Scar replied, but I couldn't here what they said. Ed protested again, but once again he was ignored. Winry kneel and started wrapping some cloth around Scar's wounded left arm. ***

"Does this mean you've forgiven me?" Scar asked Winry as she worked on his arm.

The girl looked up at him and glared furiously, "Of course not. I'll never forgive you." The girls words brought back a distant memory Scar had nearly forgotten.

_His master was speaking to him several days before the State Alchemists had been sent to Ishval._

"_The military has done some terrible things, but you must not live a life of vengeance. You must bear their atrocities," the master said._

"_Are you saying I should forgive the National Military?" Scar, before he had become 'Scar', replied._

"_Don't misunderstand me. To 'bear' and to 'forgive' are two different things. You must never forgive the unforgivable things that happen in this world. As a person, you must feel resentment, however you must endure it. Someone must break the chain of hatred."_

_Another memory, this one a few weeks further back, came to Scar's mind. His brother explaining what he hoped to accomplish with alchemy. "If negative emotions gather together, the world will have a negative flow. But vise versa, if positive emotions gather, the world will have a positive flow."_

The memories struck Scar hard. He thought about what Alison had said earlier, about wanting to help Amestris. Now, he regretted that he'd argued against her. His master and his brother had been right, revenge would only continue the flow of hatred.

Winry walked back to the Elrics and the officer, Miles. Ed looked at his friend, then turned back to Scar. "Winry might be fine with this, but that doesn't mean I don't want to punch your lights out!" the elder Elric snapped.

Scar looked away, but then turned up to Miles. "You were called 'Miles' right?" Scar asked. The man nodded, "Then do you mind if I ask you a question?" Again, Miles only nodded, "You said I was 'one of your kind'. What did you mean?"

Miles almost seemed to smile slightly before removing his sunglasses, revealing his crimson, his Ishvalan, eyes. "My grandfather was Ishvalan. I did not want to meet you this way, fellow red-eyed countryman. But that does not change the fact that you must be apprehended." Miles pulled out a wireless communicator to contact the military base at Briggs. He reported that Scar had been captured, and that he requested backup.

Before Miles even had the chance to put away the communicator, Alison was standing in front of Scar, Marcoh and May trailing behind her. "Stop! You can't take him!" Alison cried.

"Alison?" Scar said in shock. She didn't turn to look at him, her eyes were fixed on Miles, her expression clearly said she wouldn't let Scar be arrested.

"Alison?" Ed asked, infuriated. "Why are you here too?" ***

"I won't let you arrest him! He'll be executed!" I responded frantically.

Ed glared and continued, "Why are you defending him? You knew the Rockbells! Weren't you friends?"

I faltered for a moment, and I heard Scar say, "Alison, what are you doing? Leave, before you get dragged into this!" His voice was angry, but behind the rage I knew was a layer of concern.

That concern gave me the resolve to argue against Ed, "I know what he did! But that was ten years ago. And I can't just ignore everything he's doing now!"

"Everything he's doing now? Alison, he's a serial killer!" Ed snapped.

"No! He's fought for me, protected me, and saved me life. The least I could do for him is help him now." I could feel tears welling in my eyes as I fought with Ed. He is my friend, and I didn't want to argue with him like this. But there was no way I could let Scar be arrested. Kimblee was probably on his way, and if the Red Lotus had his way, Scar would be executed. Actually, even is Kimblee wasn't here, Scar would still be executed.

But Ed insisted on trying to change my mind, and I was beginning to get hopelessly frustrated. "How can you be so forgiving?" Edward snapped, his voice harsher than I'd ever heard it before.

"Because…because," I started, wanting to answer but not being able to think straight enough to give say anything. At least, not until four words burst from my lips, "Because I love him!"

(Author's Note: Done ^.^ Yay, again! I will try to focus and not play the PS2 I just stole back from my brother…yeah, there's no hope for me

But if you're bored go read Fayre Eternity's Scar fanfiction! It's amazing and getting better with every chapter ^O^ )


	28. Collapse

(Author's Note: SO SORRY this took so long. You know Murphey's Law? Everything that could go wrong DID. My power flashed in the middle of writing this, I lost everything. My sister took my laptop when I was almost finished, did something, and I lost everything. Then, my laptop did it's wonderful trick of just refusing to turn on for a week, so I was stuck fighting over my other computer with my sister. I'm typing this as fast as I can! I need to get this up!

And thank you so much! Drwhotaliaandtheolympians, I'm so glad you keep sticking around!

And of course Fayre Eternity! I know I've been taking forever to update lately, but I'm completely grateful to you for putting up with my lateness!

And everyone else who keeps reading, thank you so much!)

"Because I love him!"

Alison's words bounced around in Scar's head endlessly. _Is she serious?_ he thought, _She can't be…She couldn't be…Could she?_

Scar's look of complete and utter shock was mimicked by everyone else in the house, excluding May, who knew that was coming, and Alison, who had adopted a fierce yet stoic expression, not unlike Scar's usual. Actually, Alison didn't appear to be surprised by here exclamation at all, despite being just as frantic as Scar underneath her façade.

Underneath the mask, Alison was just as surprised as everyone else. She could barely believed she said those words. But as soon as they left her mouth, she knew they were true. She also knew she needed to stay straight faced and keep the argument going. Only, seconds after she'd spoken, she finished with, "And you can't arrest him, because we need him."

The initial shock soon left Miles face, and a look of slight confusion replaced it. "What do you mean," he asked cautiously. Alison told him about Scar's brothers notes, but she lied and said only Scar knew how to read the ancient Ishvalan language. Marcoh and May immediately caught on, and agreed that they needed Scar. But as this discussion when on, another problem emerged. How to keep Marcoh away from the Homunculus. Miles sighed and said, "We need to get Marcoh and Scar out of here, but we can't let the Homunculi know about it."

"What about Winry!" Ed snapped, obviously worried and irritated that she was being used as a hostage.

Miles nodded and added, "Yes, she will need to escape as well. And I've been ordered to take the Alkahestry girl back to base." At those words May ran behind Alphonse and exclaimed that she didn't want to go anywhere with Miles because he was scary. "Calm down, we only want to learn about Alkahestry," he added in a voice that was almost soft, and while he was being almost kind, he noticed Alison still standing protectively in front of Scar, hey eyes fixed on the gun Miles held pointed at Scar. "You can relax too," the officer told her.

But Alison shook her head and said, "I can't, not until you put that gun away."

Miles stared at her for awhile, but eventually sighed and sheathed his gun. Ed immediately flew into a rage of protest which ended in May throwing Xiao Mei at his head. As Ed ran from the panda, Alison fell to the floor in relief. Concern showed in Scar's eyes, but it was so faint only she noticed.

"I'm alright, just relieved," Alison told him, and because everyone else was distracted by trying to come up with a plan of escape, no one noticed her. "How's your arm?"

"It's been better," Scar replied.

Alison laid her hand on his left arm, far below the wound, and whispered, "I wish I could help."

Scar tugged against his right arm's restraint once again. The look on Alison's face was a mix of fear and concern, and wanted nothing more than to comfort her. He wanted to brush her cheek or wrap his arm around her shoulders, but with both his arms immobile, he knew the most he could do was just say something to her. But he couldn't think of anything. And before he even had time to think, Ed started snapping and yelling about Winry coming up with a terrible idea. Al added, in a much softer and gentler voice, that her plan was dangerous and risky. Miles agreed with the younger Elric, which spurred Winry to argue more.

"Can you think of anything better?" she snapped.

"We could…" Ed started, but after a few moments it was clear he had nothing, "no, I don't. But that doesn't mean we should go with your idea!"

"Really, Winry, you know this is way to dangerous," Al added, "we just don't want to see you hurt."

Guessing the argument wouldn't end any time soon, Miles walked over to Scar and Alison. She shakily stood up and asked, "What are they arguing about?"

"Miss Rockbell came up with a plan to help us escape," Miles explained, "and it involves you, Scar. She wants to act as if you kidnapped her. This would distract Kimblee and any soldiers on out trail. Miss Rockbell wants the Elrics to start an argument with Kimblee as well, in order to give us more time to get to Briggs. I'll assume you know why there's an argument." Alison nodded, but Scar remained still. Miles sighed and added, "I've been thinking, but I haven't come up with a better idea of escape. We need to hurry before the storm outside gets worse, so I need you to swear you will work with us, Scar."

The imprisoned Ishvalan adopted an air of slight anger and said, "I don't have much of a choice, do I?" He glared up at Miles, but Alison's expression forced him into agreeing with the plan. Her face clearly told him she was terrified of him getting arrested. "Fine, I'll help."

"Swear to it," Miles insisted.

After one last look at Alison, Scar finished, "I swear on the blood of Ishval that runs through my veins, I will help you." Miles nodded approvingly.

"Can I let him out now?" Alison asked suddenly and anxiously. Miles nodded again, but Ed immediately protested.

"You can't just let him go! He's way too dangerous!"

"He's not!" Alison snapped back angrily.

"Alison, stop," insisted Scar. The last thing he wanted was for her to get into a fight because of him.

Just then a large blast occurred near the door to the house. For the first time, Scar and Alison noticed the fierce storm growing outside. Miles looked towards the door, then said, "We need to hurry. Alison Citrona, right? You're the Aurora Alchemist, I heard rumors you traveled with Scar. Anyway, yes, you can release him now."

Alison smiled and drew a simple transmutation circle in the dirt on Scar's restraint. In a small flash of light, his arm was freed. He stood and flexed his hand a few times. Further details of Winry's plan were discussed. But one problem still remained. With the growing storm, traversing the town would be nearly impossible.

"This is an old mining town right? We could use the mines underneath the city to safely reach the fort." Everyone turned in shock to see Yoki standing in the middle of the room. Not a soul had noticed he was in the house, so even the sound of his voice had been a surprise, but the fact that he said something not only intelligent, but also helpful was almost too much for most of them to handle.

One of the officers that accompanied Miles pulled out a map of mining tunnels and confirmed Yoki's suspicions. "Alright," Miles began, "Elrics, you stay here and occupy Kimblee. Scar, you take Miss Rockbell. Citrona, I want you following them. Everyone else, with me. We'll make our way to the closest mine entrance. According to this map, we only need to head to the end of this street. Everyone understand?"

Almost everyone nodded, but Ed was shaking in fury and shouted, "No, this is a terrible idea, dammit!"

"Brother, we really don't have a choice," Al tried to say, "If Winry stays here, you know Kimblee will hold her hostage again. If she goes with Alison and Scar, at least there's a chance she'll be alright."

The older Elric turned to Scar and growled, "If anything happens to her…"

"I know," Scar replied, realizing that the boy's feelings for Winry were the same as his feelings for Alison.

Everyone started to leave when one soldier noticed the two chimeras that were still unconscious. "What should we do with them?" he asked.

"Take them with us, they could have useful information," Miles responded. And with that, the party split into three groups. Miles took his soldiers, May and Marcoh, and the chimeras to find the mine. Scar, Winry, and Alison headed towards the roof to stage the kidnapping, and the Elrics staid near the door in anticipation of Kimblee's arrival.

Once on the roof, Winry began trembling. Though the blizzard was beginning to rage furiously, Alison knew the girl wasn't cold. She tried to comfort Winry, but was clearly getting nowhere. At least, not until Scar walked out of ear shot (a surprisingly short distance given the sound of the wind). Then, Alison said, "Winry, you know me right? And you heard what I said earlier. Do you really think I would have said that if Scar was as dangerous as everyone believes?"

Winry shook her head but said, "But why did he kill my parents?"

Alison sighed and told her, "My answer will be completely biased. Are you sure you want to hear it?" Winry nodded so she continued, "I think, no I know, he didn't want to kill your parents. His family was killed by Amestrians. When he woke up, I'm sure he was afraid he'd been killed as well, or afraid he would be killed. When he saw your parents, because he was hurt and confused, he couldn't even tell they were doctors. He only saw two Amestrians. He didn't think he was hurting innocents, he thought he was protecting his family. At least, that's what I think."

"Are you sure," Winry asked, seeming to feel much safer now.

Alison nodded, "Positive. If I know him like I think I do, he wouldn't hurt someone trying to help him. He wouldn't attack someone without a reason."

"But he attacked Ed!" Winry snapped suddenly.

"Because Ed's a State Alchemist," Alison replied quickly.

"So are you, right?"

"Actually, I don't think I am anymore, not after I attack the Fuehrer in Dublith. And besides, he did attack me. Well, he wanted to anyway. After he killed Shoa Tucker, the night after we found the body actually, he showed up in my house. It was the first time I'd seen him in ten years. Neither of us recognized each other at first. But then we remembered, and I ended up rushing him out through my back door before Colonel Mustang could come in and arrest him," she finished with a laugh. "But, I don't think getting revenge matters much to him anymore. He's worrying about other things now."

Winry wanted to ask what Alison meant, but before she could Scar announced that Kimblee had arrived. "Are you ready," he asked Winry.

She nodded, now obviously much less frightened. Scar looked at Alison, knowing she had something to do with the girls newfound courage. He turned away and cautiously picked up Winry. With her under his arm, he walked to the edge of the roof, easily in Kimblee's view. Alison stepped back to keep out of the Red Lotus Alchemist's line of sight.

Kimblee was looking up at Scar, and glaring furiously. But Alison thought he looked more annoyed that angry, like he couldn't believe Scar had bested him. Actually, Alison was sure Winry being in danger didn't bother Kimblee in the slightest.

"Feeling nostalgic, Kimblee," Scar said, trying to put on a convincing act, "It was the other way around the first time we met."

"Don't look down on me," Kimblee said through teeth clenched so tight they could have broken. He began removing his gloves, revealing the symbols tattooed on his palms, but Edward immediately ran to stop him. Scar knew Kimblee was trying to blow up the building, along with the Ishvalan, Winry, and Alison. Scar set Winry down near Alison, the blew apart the front of the house, creating a perfect distraction. Alison grabbed Winry's hand, and the three of them ran to catch up with Miles' group.

They arrived as Yoki was going over a few last minute pointers about traveling through mines. "We want to avoid tunnels with no air currents. Those are dead ends were poisonous gas tends to collect." With that warning in mind, both groups headed into the mines.

They walked for about half an hour without seeing any sign that the mines were ending. Yoki insisted they were going the right way, but he was beginning to sound completely unsure. Finally, just before everyone was convinced they were utterly lost, Yoki stumbled upon an old, very abandoned way station. In it was a map of the tunnels, this one much more specific than the one Miles' soldiers had earlier.

Yoki explained the map to Miles and his men. Miles had a vague understanding of the map, so he knew Yoki was leading them in the right direction. The two of them discussed the map while the others waited, some more patently than others. May, Marcoh, and Winry were having a quiet discussion, while both Miles' and Kimblee's men were expressing annoyance at having to wait. Scar and Alison sat together several yards away from the way station.

Something moved under Alison's coat and Lieu's head popped out. He meowed quietly, causing her to chuckled softly. Seeing Kimblee's men in chimera firm had frightened the kitten, so he'd run and hid in Alison's coat. Now that everyone was back to normal, he crawled out and walked around, seeming extraordinarily stiff. A small bug skittered past him and he pounded. He missed, but the bug darted off, along with any others in the area.

Lieu trotted off to find more prey, but Alison wasn't paying much attention. Instead, she looked at Scar's left arm and asked, "Does your arm hurt?"

He looked at her, then down at his arm. Thanks to Winry, the bleeding had stopped. But the pain hadn't lessened at all. Moving his arm brought pangs of pain that traveled up to his shoulder. "It doesn't hurt at all," Scar lied.

"Don't lie," Alison replied sternly. Then in a much softer voice she added, "Please. That wound has to hurt. You said I need to let others worry about me, so let me worry about you." Her eyes were large and filled with worry. Scar rested his right hand on her shoulder. She leaned in closer to him and whispered, "I wish I could help you."

"I can!" May chirped. Scar and Alison sat back in shock. May laughed and walked over to Scar's left arm. She kneeled and quickly healed his wound. Once done, she laughed again and started to walked back to Winry and Marcoh. But Alison reached out to stop her.

"Wait, May. Do you think you could teach me Alkahestry? Please," she asked.

"Of course, Alison-chan. But right now might not be the best time. I think Yoki-san and Miles-san are ready to go." The girl turned and trotted away.

Scar held up his left arm and inspected May's always flawless healing. He stood, Alison close by his side. They were only several feet away from the others.

And a tremor ran through the mine. Dust fell from the ceiling and large cracks appeared along the walls. The cave shook again just before the ceiling collapsed. Scar called for Alison and felt her hand grab his. He pulled he back, away from the falling rubble, but his hand slipped. She fell out of his grasp, and he fell back. He landed hard, head first, and everything went black.

_Clink._

A pebble fell and struck the ground. Scar stirred and sat up. His head was throbbing, but he didn't think he was hurt. He wasn't sure though, because he couldn't see his hand in front of his face. He couldn't see anything in the pitch black mine.

_I'm in the mines,_ he thought suddenly, remembering where he was and what's he'd been doing. And who he was with.

"Alison," he called, but there was no answer. The cave was entirely silent. If anyone or anything made any noise he'd hear it. "Alison!" Still, there was no answer. He stood and took a few steps, but the darkness made it hard for his to move without walking into piles of debris. He thought he remembered something about Alison not liking the dark. His thought went back to before the war, when she was at his house with his brother. She'd explained how she was afraid of the dark because the thought of going blind terrified her. She's also said she hated not being able to see what, or who, was around her. Scar knew Alison would be afraid, no terrified, now. "Alison!" he called again, his voice filled with desperation.

Finally, he heard a small whimper off to the left. He ran, tripping over every rock in his path, towards the sound. Louder this time, another whimper filled the cave. Scar knelt down where he thought the sound was coming from and whispered, "Alison?"

A small hand touched his arm, and Alison whispered, "Scar?" Her voice sounded dry and tired, but it was unmistakably hers. She moved, trying to sit up, but when she tried to move her right arm pain nearly brought her to tears. She gasped and said, "Scar, I can't move my arm."

Scar reached out beside her and felt a large rock resting directly to her right. He wanted to destroy or at least move the rock, but he couldn't be sure more weren't resting on top of it. "I need to see," he said softly, hoping desperately Alison could do something.

He heard her move her left arm and her fingers snapped. A small ball of fire appeared above her hand. "Does this help?" she asked. Scar nodded and turned to the rocks beside her. Now that he could see, he found that the rock on her arm wasn't holding anything up and could easily be moved. He also found that her arm wasn't completely underneath it. Her right forearm was obviously broken, but it wasn't entirely crushed.

Alison pulled her arm towards herself, but tears came to her eyes. "Stop," Scar told her. He tore off a section of his cloak and wrapped it around her arm. She winced and a tear fell down her cheek, but she didn't cry out or gasp. When he was done, he tore another strip from his cloak, this one much shorter but also much wider, and formed a sling out of it. "Does this feel better?"

Alison looked up at him and smiled, "It still hurts, but I can move now." Then her smile faded, "but we're in a big mess now, aren't we?"

Scar nodded but said, "We'll find a way out."

Alison looked up at him and smiled, "Yeah, you're right." Scar stood then and carefully helped her to her feet. "It's so dark, though," she whispered.

Scar's arm draped across her shoulder's and he pulled her close, careful not to bump her injured arm. "It's alright. We will get out of here, and I will keep you safe." Both stood together for a few minutes, then they started walking down the tunnel. Alison's little ball of flame bounced above them. The only sound was the fall of their feet, even though both had things they desperately wanted to say.

(Author's Note: Next time, stuck in a cave…is this cliché? Well, give me a break. I'm suffering from severe, chronic writer's block. Actually, the cave idea came to me in kind of a funny way. I read Bleach on Wednesday but Grimmjow hasn't come back yet! So I was mad. I was still mad on Friday when a new chapter of Fairy Tail came out. Reading it didn't distract me from Bleach though, and I was massively bored and frustrated because of the writer's block thing. So, because I just read Fairy Tail, I decided to stick with Hiro Mashima and started rereading Rave Master. The characters were in a cave, and that made me think of FMA, because of the whole mine thing. I've been wanting to throw in a danger scene where Alison _doesn't_ almost end up dead (I've been doing a really bad job with that lately…) so the cave-in idea was born! I literally screamed and shoved my sister off the computer. YAY! I'm really surprised I have such a good plan for this part, considering I came up with it in about five minutes. Most big scenes I had planned for months, like the last scene with Valora, the part in Ishval, the last part of the last chapter was one of the first scenes I pictured when I started this ^^ The part where Scar kind of ran away in the abandoned village was actually where this entire story started. I pictured a scene like that, then came up with Alison about a month later…yay!)


	29. Revelation

(Author's Note: This is the first chapter I finished on the Mac my school gave me…well the first since school ended last year at least. So, YAY another chapter done! But I am sorry to say this fanfiction is almost done Afterwards I'm going to start a Final Fantasy X fanfic, so if anyone has played the game please read it

Thanks again to Drwhotaliaandtheolympians and Fayre Eternity! And thank you to anyone else who has put up with my extreme lateness this summer! Now that school has started (and once I finally get my schedule straightened out) I hope to be able to upload much faster ^^ )

A small sphere of light came slowly down the mineshaft. The light wavered slightly, but it didn't appear to be going out anytime soon. Still, I checked the lantern I held to make sure there was still plenty of oil in it. Even though I was walking with Scar, I still feared the dark.

When Scar and I first started walking down this corridor, I had used a small ball of flame to light our way. However, I soon thought that was a lethally bad idea. If pockets of gas built up, the flame could ignite them, most likely killing us both. So when I saw a lantern lying near a wall, I snatched it up. The light wasn't as bright, but I would hopefully be much safer. When I told all this to Scar, he agreed the lantern was a much better plan.

After what seemed like hours of endless walking, we stumbled upon a fork. Two tunnels opened up before us. "Now what?" Scar asked.

I could feel a slight breeze coming from the cave on the right, and I remembered Yoki saying something about following tunnels with breezes. The caves without air flow were dead ends. I pointed with my uninjured arm towards the right tunnel and said, "This way. There's a bree-" I was cut of by a sudden howl that echoed across the walls.

Without thinking I reached out and grabbed Scar arm, pulling myself close to him. He rested his hand on my shoulder and said, "It's just the wind."

"Y-yeah," I said, then laughed shakily, "Sorry, maybe we should leave soon," I finished with a smile. I looked up at Scar, hoping to see him smile or chuckle or at least show some emotion, but his face was straight as usual. However, his eyes had a strange look in them, like he was desperate.

I thought he was going to say something, but he just turned around and started walking down the tunnel I pointed out. I watched him walk for a few moments, but I was holding the lantern, and he was fading away into the darkness. The thought of him disappearing came to me and frightened me, so I quickly followed after him. ***

As he walked down the tunnel Alison had pointed out, Scar noticed a slight breeze blow passed his face. She was right, they were on the right path. But he barely noticed.

Scar wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He wanted desperately to tell Alison how he felt about her, but he also wanted to focus on getting her out of the mine as fast as he possible. She smiled and laughed, making fun out of her fear, but he knew how badly she wanted to leave.

Maybe it was because of her intense desire to leave that she spotted a light growing in the distance. It was faint, but Scar thought he should have seen it long before Alison pointed it out. It flickered and glowed orange, clearly a lantern or torch and not sunlight.

"Maybe it'll be May or Marcoh! Or maybe Miles made it out and sent someone to look for us," Alison said. But Scar wasn't sure either was a possibility. He had a feeling whatever was ahead wasn't going to be friendly.

As they got closer, Scar's bad feeling grew worse, but Alison's excitement only seemed to grow. The tunnel widened and opened into a large cave. Clustered around a small fire were at least twenty men. When Scar approached, one stood and drew a knife.

"What're you doing here?" the man asked.

"We want to get out of this mine," Scar replied simply. He kept his voice level, clearly showing no fear of the knife the man held.

Alison stepped out from behind Scar and added, "Please, we have people waiting for us." At the sight of Alison, the men's faces lit up. The one who had spoken took a few more steps forward.

"Well, seeing as how you found our little hideout, we can't just let you go. You see, we're not exactly following the law here," the man said slowly, as if to make himself appear to be a world class criminal, "But why don't we make a deal. You leave the girl here with us, and we let you go see these friends of yours. 'Course, if any cops show up, she'll be the first to go, but that's just business, ain't it."

Anger filled Scar's face and he stepped protectively in front of Alison. But her hand came up and rested on his shoulder. "Scar, you can't fight. There're way too many of them," she said.

Scar took a step back, pushing Alison further away from the band of outlaws, and handed her the lantern, all without taking his eyes off the group of men in front of him. "They won't lay a finger on you," Scar replied sternly.

"You'll get hurt or…or worse. I'll be fine, just go!" she insisted.

"I'm not going to leave you here with them."

"Then let me help you! I can-"

"No, you can't. You're not going to fight while you're injured."

"But I can still help! I have my alchemy." She looked down at her gloves and noticed both were covered in dirt. A quick wash would make them good as new, but while the transmutation circles were covered, she couldn't use her alchemy.

"Alison you can't fight. I won't let you get hurt, never again."

The thug that had stood up let out a bellow of menacing laughter. "Such a sweet scene, ain't it boys? But it looks like Mr. Hero won't take us up on out offer. How about we change his mind," he let out another laugh, "And don't worry about your girl, she'll be just fine!" At those words, every man stood. Some drew knives, one had a gun, but most were unarmed.

"Get back!" Scar yelled to Alison as he rushed for the man standing ahead of the group. The man feel to the ground, dead before he could even react. The other men watched, stunned, before slowly beginning to charge.

Alison cried for Scar to come back. He heard her cry, but ignored it and instead fought harder, taking care to avoid the men with knives. One unarmed man ran straight in front of him and threw a sloppy punch. He was easily thrown away. But while Scar fought him, two more men, both with long knives, approached from behind.

Scar spun around and grabbed the wrist of one, hearing a sickening crack as the bones broke. The knife fell from his hand and Scar snatched it up just before the other man took a swipe at his throat. Using the knife, the Ishvalan blocked the blow with ease and countered by stabbing the still armed man through the heart. With a quick blow from his right arm, Scar brought down the first man.

Another unarmed man landed a solid kick on Scar's back. He stumbled forward a few steps as pain shot up his spine, but the thought of Alison being taken flashed through his mind and he turned and slew the man in one motion. Three more men, one armed, circled around him. All at once they charged, believing the kick might have stunned or at least slowed him down.

Unfortunately for them, he wasn't even effected. He crouched and kicked all their legs out from under them. He finished off two before they could stand, the last one managed to return to his feet, but then immediately was thrown against a wall of the mine. He didn't move, but Scar didn't think he was dead. Not many men were left, but most were still armed. He took care to avoid putting the men with knives behind him as he took on more attackers.

While he fought he also watched for the man with the gun. He looked through the remaining fighters, but the gunman didn't appear to be among their ranks. Scar began to think the man might have run in fear, but he had a sinking feeling that wasn't the case. A muffled scream filled the cave, and he turned to see the gunman holding a hand over Alison's mouth, his gun against her temple. The lantern she'd found was lying next to her, the glass cracked and oil pooled around it.

"Don't move!" he shouted before Scar could run to her aid. Suddenly, a man with a knife came behind Scar, attempting to take advantage of this distraction.. However, Scar wasn't about to let himself be defeated so easily. In one fluid motion, the Ishvalan grabbed the man, took his knife, and threw it towards the gunman. The knife his the gunman in his shoulder, causing him to drop the gun as he lost all feeling in his arm.

Scar's right arm brought the knife-wielding man down, but the gunman was still in his feet. He took the knife from his shoulder and was about to attack Alison in his anger, but Scar stopped him just in time.

Kneeling to the ground, Scar sent a ripple of his deconstruction alchemy through the ground, knocking both the gunman and Alison off their feet. With this attacker occupied and away from her, the Ishvalan was easily able to run across the growing cracks in the ground towards Alison.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her away from the broken ground, cautious not to move her injured arm around too much. Suddenly a deep rumble filled the mine and cracks ran up and down the walls. Scar realized the tunnel would collapse soon. Without thinking, he scooped Alison up into his arms and ran down the tunnels, heading after the last few outlaws.

The gunman tried to stand, reaching for his gun with his uninjured arm, but his foot landed in the puddle of oil. He fell again as a shot rang out. Above Alison and Scar's heads, the bullet hit the ceiling and ricocheted past them harmlessly. Another rumble filled the cave and a giant fissure appeared along the ceiling. Scar darted towards what he hoped would be the way out. The other men had run this way, so he assumed there must be an exit.

A loud crash sounded behind him as the tunnel finally collapsed. The small fire that had been built was covered in rubble, plunging the mine into complete darkness. Scar clutched Alison closer and just ran as fast as he could. He felt her finger grasp at the cloth of his shirt as she said, "Scar it's too dark. Slow down, you can't see where you're going." Her voice was filled with concern for him, but he couldn't hear a hint of her fear of the dark.

"There's a light ahead, I can see just fine," he answered, even though he couldn't see a thing. But shortly after, however, a light did appear. This one was brighter and appeared blue-white, like sunlight reflecting off of the snow. Scar was exhausted, the strain from fighting and the earlier hours of walking were catching up to him, but he knew that light was the way out of the mines. With renewed vigor, he rushed forward. Alison expressed her concern, both at the dark and his draining energy, but then she too saw the light. She asked him to put her down, "I can walk on my own, and I know you're exhausted," she told him.

Although he almost seemed reluctant, Scar agreed and placed her gently on her feet. By now there was more than enough light flooding into the tunnel that they could both see clearly. This was no doubt the exit.

Alison walked a bit further before stopping. "Wait," she called, "There's something I want…no, something I need to ask you." Scar stopped and turned to her.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No, I just…I wanted to know why you're always protecting me. Why are you always saving me?" She paused for a moment. Scar didn't answer, partly because he wasn't sure how and partly because almost as soon as she paused, Alison sucked in a nervous breath and started speaking again, "No, that's not really what I wanted to ask, I guess. What I really wanted to ask was…" her cheeks flushed and she was obviously nervous. "Back then, in that house, I...I meant what I said. I guess, I just wanted...to know if you felt the same."

"Alison..." Scar started slowly before cupping her face and gently brushing his lips against hers, "I do feel the same. I have for a long time. Alison, I love you, and I won't anyone hurt you. Never again." ***

I looked up at Scar in shock for half a moment before wrapping my arm around him. I could barely believe what I was hearing, but he'd never lied to me before, and I knew he was telling the truth. I reached up and kissed him again, long and tender just like the first time in that rainy, abandoned village.

Scar's arms gently wrapped around me. I soft pain throbbed through my injured arm, but I was easily able to ignore it. We stood there for what must have been more than an hour, but only felt like a few seconds. We both were so shocked and overjoyed, though Scar didn't show it, by what we had just realized. We also knew the minute we left this cave we'd be under the constant eye of the Northern branch of the Amestrian Military.

"We need to go," Scar said slowly, reluctantly.

I shook my head and replied, "I don't want to."

"You need May to fix your arm. And the others need us." Leave it to Scar to use my own argument against me. All I wanted was to stay here with him, but Amestris needed our help, and I couldn't just abandon them. And I had to admit, my arm was starting to get worse.

"I know but…" I started, but Scar interrupted me by lifting my face to look at him.

The first thing I noticed was the look in his eyes. It wasn't a harsh, stoic, or angry look. Instead he appeared understanding, like he wanted to stay just as much, no probably more than me. But there was also a hint of urgency. He knew Miles and the Elrics needed out help, and even if he didn't want to, we had to help.

Then he said something that completely amazed me. "As soon as we finish off the Homunculi, we can go anywhere we want."

Why that hadn't occurred to me before I'll never know. But he was right. I smiled and nodded, now excited to leave and help the Elrics with anything they needed. Because as soon as we won this fight, Scar and I could be together. One look towards him told me he was just as eager to end the fighting, even it he didn't show it as much. I wrapped the fingers of my good hand around his own hand and we finally started making our way out of the mine. It didn't take us long to reach the end of the tunnel.

The sun outside was blinding, and the bright white snow all around didn't help at all. Fortunately, once out eyes adjusted, we were able to make out numerous sets of prints. At first we thought some of them might belong to the bandits from before, but then we noticed one set of giant, heavily sunken prints that could only belong to Alphonse Elric. And beside them were a set that looked as if they belonged to a child. There was no mistaking both Ed and Al had gone by this cave.

While we were making our way through the cave, the blizzard must have worn itself out. The sky was completely cloudless, and there was a fresh layer of soft snow over everything. The new snow was making walking difficult, but tracking the Elrics couldn't have been easier so neither of us complained. However the sky was starting to darken as the sun set. I was beginning to get very worried we wouldn't find the brothers before night fell. With the temperature dropping fast, we hurried after the tracks. Just as the first star began to show in the sky, we saw a pillar of smoke that belonged to the chimneys coming from the Northern Base.

I let out a cheer and ran as fast as I could. Scar followed close behind. When we reached the doors to the base May, Lieu, and Xiao Mei came barreling towards us. My cat and May jumped towards me, but Xiao Mei headed straight for Scar, taking him by surprise. He almost dodged out of the way of the careening panda, then thought better of it and allowed the animal to land on him. I was laughing, but by know May had noticed the sling around my arm.

"Oh no! What happened!?" the girl cried, "Is your arm broken? Did you cut yourself? Does it hurt? Did I make it worse? Oh no, I did, didn't I? I'm so sorry, Alison-chan!" By now tears were beginning to form in her very concerned eyes.

I laughed and told her, "No, you didn't make it worse. And it's not broken. It got um…crushed. In the cave in."

More concern filled her small face and she almost shouted, "Come on follow me I'll make it better!" She grabbed my good arm and pulled me along, asking every soldier she passed where a bed was.

I wanted to laugh at her reaction, but I couldn't help but noticed the looks every soldier was giving us. No one trusted Scar. Some even soldiers just looked at him in hate, thinking of him as nothing more than a serial killer. And because I was with him, I was getting those looks too. But I thought back to what he said in the mine and hoped that once this was all over that distrust, or at least the hatred, would end. For now, I at least had something to hope for, something to fight for.

I thought this as May lead me to a small room with two beds. She told me to lie down on the closest one and she started fixing my arm. When she was done I flexed my hand and marveled at how well it had healed. She giggled excitedly when I thanked her, but then said she needed to go get the Elrics and Miles.

I sat up on the bed and Scar sat down beside me. "How does your arm feel?" he asked quietly.

"Much better now," I told him with a smile, but I could see there was something troubling him.

"Alison, those soldiers weren't just glaring at me, they were glaring at you too."

"Scar, stop," I started, guess where this conversation was going and wanting to stop it here, "I don't care what a few soldiers think. Hell, I really wouldn't care if all of Amestris hated me. Mustang still trusts me, and the Elrics know me far to well to stay mad forever. As long as I have my friends, and you, I'll be alright. Don't worry, okay?" To emphasis my point, I smiled brightly and slid closer to him. I leaned against his arm and he held me close. In response to my answer, he only nodded.

Loud footsteps came pounding down the hall. I pulled away form Scar in surprise as Ed burst through the doors. "What the hell happened?!" shouted the elder Elric.

I laughed nervously and responded, "The mine collapsed and we got a bit separated. Didn't anyone tell you?"

"Yes, but we looked through the mine and couldn't find a trace of either of you. Where were you and how did you get out?" Ed replied.

"I'm not sure where we were, but I think we just went more or less straight through the mines. Well, there was a fork, and we went right. And after that we ran into some bandits," I continued.

"Those thugs!" Ed said surprised, "We ran into them too, but I figured there was no way you two were down there. How did you get out?"

"We um…dealt with those guys," I tried to explain.

"We?" Ed asked, making me assume May told him about my arm.

"I didn't do much," I said and tried to add in a small laugh.

"Didn't think so. Anyway, I was going to start with the notes today," Ed started to finish as he held up Daein's notebook. When he saw it, I could feel Scar tense, as if seeing Ed hold his brother's work infuriated him. But Scar's face remained emotionless, and he didn't say anything. Not noticing Scar's reaction, Ed continued, "But you both look like you've been through a lot. We can start tomorrow." After he stopped speaking, the elder Elric left the room. I waited for someone else, maybe May or Miles, to come in, but the only other person to enter was just a soldier who brought us some dinner. Honestly, it almost felt like I was in jail.

But then I remembered Scar sitting next to me, and that made me feel much better. Neither of us could come up with much to talk about, so we mostly ate in silence. Almost as soon as we finished eating, a wave of exhaustion washed over me. I leaned against Scar's arm and fell asleep as soon as I felt his arm wrap around me.


	30. Ambush

(Author's Note: I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I am so sorry! I thought this year would be just like last year, ignoring all my teachers while writing fanfiction and still managing to ace the class… but it turns out Advanced Placement classes are hard, and you actually need to pay attention o.0 someone should have warned me of this….

So this chapter is out a lot later than I ever thought it would be D: And it's shorter than I wanted it to be, but I can't think of anyway to continue this one. UGH! Well, maybe the next chapter will be very long! Maybe…..

And to everyone still reading this THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'm sorry I've been taking forever to update but I will try harder to write faster!)

The morning came slowly, the cold from yesterday pleasantly forgotten under thick woolen blankets. Scar's eyes opened slowly, and he was greeted by Alison sleeping soundly in his arms. Her soft silver hair brushed against his neck as she stirred. He wondered if she was waking up, but her eyes remained closed.

The predawn light flooding into their small room left everything in varying shades of gray. While the corners of the room were difficult to see, Scar could easily make out every detail of Alison's face. Her silvery eyelashes lightly brushed against her cheeks. Her full rose-colored lips parted slightly, letting out a soft, quiet snore. The corners of her mouth rose slightly in response to some pleasant dream. She appeared so completely peaceful and happy Scar could scarcely believe she was the same woman he traveled and fought with for so many months. And he found that he loved seeing her so peaceful and happy.

She turned in her sleep, now facing his chest, but she remained asleep. Scar closed his eyes and pulled her closer. He remembered the dangers they'd encountered and thought of the dangers to come. He knew moments like this would be next to nonexistent in the coming days, and he wanted to hold Alison for as long as possible.

After several minutes had passed, Alison finally awoke. Her droopy, sleep-filled eyes saw only rough woolen fabric. At first she was confused, she couldn't remember falling asleep and so had no idea where she was. She pushed herself up a bit so she could look around. Turning her head up, she looked straight into deep crimson eyes. Her lips formed a new smile. "Good morning, Scar," she said softly. Then her eyes filled with some confusion, "You know, you almost look happy. And here I was thinking you didn't know how," she finished with a laugh. He just closed his eyes and held her closer; she chuckled.

"Are you two awake yet?" Ed's voice came angrily through the door followed by Al's gentler voice, "Brother, you don't have to be so harsh."

Smiling, Alison stood and walked to the door as Scar sat up on the bed. Opening the door, Alison said, "Morning, boys. We're both awake now."

"Good," Ed replied, "Then we need those notes translated _now_."

"So rushed," she sighed, "Alright, come on, Scar."

Scar hesitated a moment, still wondering if he should be helping the Amestrians. Alison turned back to look at him, and he sighed, knowing he couldn't let her go off alone. Even if he didn't care what happened to this country, as long as she fought, he would protect her. He stood and followed her through the door. "Let's go," he grumbled. Alison shook her head but smiled, and the group walked down a hallway.

After only a few steps, Ed asked, "Al, why don't you and Scar go on ahead? I want to ask Alison something."

"Um, sure, Brother," Al said. Scar obviously didn't want to go ahead, but Alison encouraged him to follow Alphonse.

Ed stood silently tapping his foot for a few minutes before asking, "Did you mean what you said in that guy's house?"

A bit shocked by the sudden question, Alison took a moment to respond, "Yes, I did. I love him, Ed."

"Why? How?"

"He's not the monster everyone thinks he is. If you'd just get to know him, you'd understand."

Ed was silent for a moment, understanding the point Alison was trying to make, but being completely unable to agree. Finally, he said, "You're biased."

Almost immediately, Alison responded, "I am. But so are you."

"Probably," he muttered before saying, "We should hurry, Al's waiting." Without waiting for a response, Ed began walking down the hall after Al and Scar. Alison followed silently.

After only a minute or two, May's voice shouted, "Scar-san!" followed by a loud meow. Lieu and Xiao Mei ran into Alison's arms while May hugged Scar's leg.

Alison's blue-violet eyes filled with amused confusion and she asked, "What's wrong, May-chan? You act like you haven't seen us in ages!"

"We haven't! …oh wait we saw you yesterday," May giggled sheepishly.

"Can we move on?" Ed asked, clearly annoyed.

May turned to him and stuck out her tongue, "Yeah we're coming, Shorty."

"Who're you calling 'Shorty', Bean-girl?!" he snapped back. The elder Elric tried to charge at the girl, but the younger grabbed him before he could take a step.

"You can't attack her, Brother!" Al insisted. Looking up at Alphonse, May's eyes seemed to sparkle in adoration.

Scar watched the exchange silently, but Alison was in a fit of laughter. She was laughing so hard tears were welling in her eyes and she felt she had to clutch her ribs or they would break. Seeing her so over-joyed almost brought a smile to Scar's lips, but before that could happen Marcoh approached the group.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I fear we may be running out of time," The doctor said, clearly meaning his apology. Alison almost immediately lost the joy in her face as her thoughts turned to the matter at hand.

"You're right, Marcoh," she said. "Okay, let's get going!" The solemn look her face had take melted away to change into a mask of fierce determination. Lieu crawled up her arm and stood with his head raised on her shoulder, trying to enhance his master's image. Unfortunately, he was a small kitten, so the effect really didn't work.

An angry, annoyed look fell across Ed's face and he asked, "Why are you so excited. It's not like you can actually help us."

Alison's eyes flashed with vague annoyance and she opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it when she remembered she'd told everyone she couldn't read Ishvalan, convincing them saving Scar was the only way to decipher his brother's notes. She thought for a moment then said, "I can help! I can keep Scar motivated! Right?" she finished, looking up to Scar. But his only response was to nod. Exasperated but not surprised, Alison sighed, "Ugh! Come on already. I want to know what Daein wrote, and why he couldn't tell me!"

Marcoh nodded and pointed towards a room to the right of the group. "This room was set up for you to work in. It'll be quiet and no outside ears will be able to hear a word."

The room was filled with a long table surrounded by one chair for every person in the group. Marcoh entered first, followed by Ed and Al. The three of them sat along one side of the table, with Marcoh in the middle, and Scar picked the seat opposite the doctor. Alison and May sat on either side of their Ishvalan friend. The last seat was filled by a Briggs officer Alison hadn't noticed before. "Who's he?" she asked.

"I'm just a stand-in for Major General Armstrong," the man replied, "Call me McKinnley."

"Okay, McKinnely-san!" May chirped, earing a nervous glance from the officer.

"Is it really alright to allow a child to take part in this meeting?" he asked Alison, who was sitting nearest to him.

In response she laughed and said, "Maybe not, but she's the only one here who knows Xingese, a language Daein, the author of these notes, loved to use."

"So basically the girl and the Ishvalan are the only ones who can read this stuff," McKinnely replied, clearly exasperated and skeptical about the work taking place.

"Yes!" Alison replied merrily.

"Can we just start this already?" Ed snapped, clearly losing patience.

Yes, yes, we're getting there," Alison teased.

Scar leaned down beside her and whispered, You're in a good mood."

"Force of habit," she whispered back before asking to see the notebook. For the next few hours, Scar and May worked together to translate Daein's many formulas and transmutations. Having May's knowledge of Alkahestry and the Xingese language made decoding the notes are easier than it would have been other wise. Still, once all the notes were translated, one big question remained. What did all of this mean?

"Most of this is just random formulas and transmutation circles!" Ed growled.

"We must be missing something, right?" McKinnely asked. Alison nodded slowly while was looking through the notebook. Scar and May went over notes, attempting to find phrases that could be translated differently and possibly bring order to the jumble of notes.

"This shouldn't be random…" Alison muttered to herself. "There must be a pattern. He wouldn't make it random." Scar looked away form his notes to look at her. She appeared deep in thought and was concentrating very hard. Scar wasn't sure, but he thought she must have read through the notebook more than a dozen times.

"And here I thought we'd find something about human transmutation," Ed murmured miserably, his chin resting on the table. "Let me see that again."

Ed reached for the notebook Alison held, but her grip on it remained firm. The two then began pulled back and forth trying to gain or keep possession of the notebook. Finally, the thread holding the pages together snapped, scattering them all over the table. Alison's face was horrified.

"What did you do?" she snapped. She immediately stood and began gathering the pages together. Scar stood to help her. Suddenly, she grabbed his hand to stop him. "Wait, I think I just found something." She started arranging the pages in a way so that every transmutation circle Daein had drawn formed a bigger circle. The circle used for human transmutation. "I think we found your transmutation, Ed."

"And look!" May chirped, "All the pages are grouped together! Around each point on the circle, all the pages talk about the same things."

"She's right," Alison praised, "But it still feels like we're missing something."

Al's childish voice chimed, "What if he not only found a way to perform human transmutation, but also a way to stop it? Maybe if we flipped the pages, an inverse circle will be made."

Alison looked at him in shock for a moment. What he said was exactly what Daein would do, but Alison had completely overlooked it. She felt somewhat ashamed, but still she rushed to rearrange the pages. And indeed, an inverse transmutation circle was created.

Earlier, the idea that the Homunculi were turning Amestris into one giant transmutation circle had been discussed and confirmed. With this new discovery, the group felt they now had the knowledge to stop the Homunculi.

The group was busy discussing plans for stopping their enemies when May's stomach suddenly growled furiously. "Sorry!" she chirped, "We were so serious I forgot I was hungry!"

Alison laughed, "How long have we been here, anyway?"

"Too long!" May whined before running for the door. "Can we eat? Please?"

McKinnely smiled and lead the group to a crowded, noisy mess hall. He excused himself from the table he found for them, and returned several minutes later with piles of food. "Eat up," he said cheerfully. And May did.

Between she and Ed, half the food McKinnely brought was gone within the first minute. Marcoh and Scar ate little; both men were nervous about being in this base and didn't have much of an appetite. Al sat quietly, anxious for the day he too could act as his brother and May were. Alison eyed him sadly, knowing what he thought even though he showed no expression.

After the food was eaten and May and Ed stopped their fight over the last dinner roll, the group spilt up, everyone returning to his or her rooms. Now that only Scar could see her, Alison sighed heavily and threw herself onto the room's only bed.

"Are you alright?" Scar asked, concern showing in his eyes.

"Just tired," she responded sleepily, "I forgot how hard it is to keep up a smile for so long." Contradicting herself, Alison smiled up at Scar.

He walked over and sat beside her, asking, "Why do you do it, then?"

Alison thought silently for a few moments before answering, "If I'm happy, then May is happy. And if we're happy then at least the others will feel more at ease. I used to smile all day long, when I worked for Mustang. When people would see me smiling, they would smile, and I felt like I was helping them, if only a little. Now, it really is just like a habit."

Scar listened carefully to her words and realized she was right. Even he felt more comfortable and relaxed when she smiled and laughed. Now that he thought about it, he noticed the Elrics seemed less tense as well.

"But you know," Alison started again, "It gets really hard sometimes. There were times when all I wanted to do was cry. But I had to keep smiling. If I didn't Mustang or Havoc or Fuery would notice and worry about me." She laughed shortly, suddenly, "They might have tried to _fix_ whatever was wrong. That might have been funny, but probably would just have made more problems then it solved. So I kept on smiling. But now I'm so tired… Scar?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for listening," she said almost to softly to hear. She sat up and leaned against him, "I've wanted to tell someone this for so long."

"You don't need to thank me," he told her, wrapping one arm around her slender shoulders, "You can tell me anything, I'll listen. You don't have to bottle anything up anymore."

Alison only nodded and closed her eyes. She wanted to thank him, but almost as soon as her eyes closed, she was fast asleep. Scar pulled her down to lay beside him and he too soon fell into peaceful slumber.

A loud explosion woke Scar early in the morning. He was out of the bed before the dust could even start to settle and was cautiously peering out the room's only door. But the dust filled the hallway and clouded his vision. Soft shuffling footsteps approached from behind him and Alison's sleep-filled voice asked, "What happened?"

"I don't know," he responded, "But stay behind me." He didn't care what was going on, but Alison wouldn't be hurt by it.

Faint shouts grew loud as they moved through the hall. Soldiers were crying out about the neighboring country, Drachma, attacking them. Scar quickly gathered that the explosion was caused by cannon fire striking the Amestrian base. He also began to see the hulking form of Alphonse running toward him.

"Miles wants us out of here!" he called, "He wants us to protect your brother's notes. He said they're too important to risk right now. Oh and here, you'll need coats." As if it were perfectly normal, Al opened his armor and pulled out two coats, one much larger than the other, and threw them to Alison and Scar.

"Where does he want us to go?" Alison asked, now fully alert and standing out in the hallway in front of Scar. But before anyone could answer, her eyes grew wide. "Wait, Daein's notes! The Amestris-wide transmutation circle!"

"What about it?" Scar asked.

"At every point on the circle, a bloody conflict occurred, remember? We've been at a standstill with Drachma for years! We haven't gotten along, but there was never any fighting. Why would they just suddenly attack now? We have to stop this fight!" Before anyone could stop her, Alison was running towards the continuing explosions.

"Alison, stop!" Scar called before running after her, his eyes growing wide at the thought of her running onto a battle field. He caught up almost immediately and grabbed her shoulders to stop her. "You can't stop a war, Alison," he insisted.

"But I have to try! If I can stop this fight, maybe I can stop the Homunculi!"

"You can't stop this fight!" Scar was clearly angry now. Al watched silently. Though he would never admit, especially when his brother was around, Scar still scared him. And seeing Alison, who was almost two feet shorter and much smaller than the Ishvalan, stand up to him frankly astounded him.

And Alison was intent on winning this argument, "I can try! I can stop them!"

"You'll just get killed!" Scar snapped, but as those words sank in, his face grew softer. "Alison, you can't stop this fight. You'll only get yourself killed. I know you want to save this country, but you won't accomplish anything by dying for nothing. We have my brother's notes, the transmutation circle he drew. You can use that to help."

Alison looked up at him for what seemed like an eternity. She was just as surprised as Alphonse to hear him say all that. She stood thinking of a way to argue back, but she was at a loss for words.

Suddenly an explosion erupted closer than any before it. The whole base shook and Alison lost her balance. Scar caught her easily, and he noticed a sad and defeated look in her eyes. "All those people are dying…. And I can't do a thing to help."

"Alison," Scar spoke softly before gathering her in his arms. "You can help. You can get out of here and live to fight the Homunculi."

Alphonse watched the two silently. After Alison nodded in response to Scar's final words, the enchanted suit of armor looked away quickly. If he could have blushed, his face would have been cherry red. To change the subject and make him feel less awkward, the younger Elric managed to stutter, "We should get going."

"Yeah," Alison muttered. She took a few steps towards Al then looked back as if to see if Scar would follow her. But then another thought struck her. "Wait, where's my cat?"

"Here!" May called, running through holding Lieu and Xiao Mei in her arms. When she reached Alison she was panting heavily and sweat covered her face. "I was… looking all over…for you three," she tried to say.

Alison smiled, took her cat, and apologized, "I'm sorry, May-chan."

"And Alphonse-sama!" the little girl snapped angrily, "You almost left the notes behind!"

"What?" the boy asked, "But Miles told you to take them!"

"No! Miles-san said you were supposed to, because they'd be safest with you!"

"No he didn't! He said you should keep them, because you and Scar are the only ones who understand it, but Scar wasn't there at the time!"

"That's not what happ-" May started, but she was interrupted by Scar taking the notes from her hands.

"I'm keeping them," he said simply.

"But that's-" May started but Alison interrupter the girl.

"A great idea! Now, we should probably leave before one of those cannons hits this hall." As if on queue, another explosion rocked the base. May grumbled something incoherent before sulking her way down the hall. Xiao Mei and Lieu ran to her and sat on her shoulders to try and bring back her usual cheerful self. Alison smiled and shook her head, and she and the others began to leave the base.

Marcoh was waiting for them outside the building, along with two Briggs soldiers. "Zampano and Jerso, They're here to help us," the doctor explained.

"I know them," Scar said suddenly, "I fought them. They work for Kimblee."

Alison glanced at them in shock, but then remembered seeing them in the house where she and Scar had met up with the Elrics and Miles. "That's right! I remember them too!" she said.

"Things have changed!" Marcoh replied quickly, "They only worked for Kimblee because they had to! They aren't loyal to him, I can promise you that."

Scar only glared and stood so he was between the soldiers and Alison.

Alison looked towards Marcoh and said, "I'm sorry. I trust you, you know that, but I can't trust them."

"We understand," one of the soldiers, Zampano, answered, "We weren't expecting you too. But Miles wants us to go with you, so we will." Jerso nodded to confirm his partners words.

"Wait, where are we going?" Alison asked, suddenly anxious.

"Oh sorry," the younger Elric apologized, "There's a small Ishvalan village not far from here. Miles said we'd be safe there."

"Ishvalan?" Scar asked, clearly surprised to know his people lived so far north and angered at having men who served under Kimblee accompanying them to this village.

"Yes," answered Marcoh, "Miles has gone there many times in the past. The people there trust him, and he said they'll trust us as well."

"Is this a good idea?" Alison asked.

"We don't have much of a choice. There's no where else we can go," the doctor answered.

"If they cause any trouble for my people, I will kill them." Scar's words were quiet and emotionless, but their message was well received.

"I know, and they won't," Marcoh said, hoping the conversation would end.

Fortunately for him, a strong gust of wind blew by then, causing Alison to shiver and swear loudly at the cold.

"Perhaps we should hurry," the doctor said hurriedly.

"Please! I need a fire or something!" Alison begged before stomping off, her small feet leaving heavy imprints in the snow. Al and May laughed as they followed after her. Marcoh stood back beside Scar for a moment before remembering he was the only one who knew where they were going.

Scar drifted towards Alison and heard her mutter, "Damn it's cold." He looked down at her, and thought she wasn't looking his face hinted his concern for her. He started taking off his jacket, but Alison heard him and said, "Keep it on, Scar. I'm fine, we don't need you freezing out here. Just stay close, you feel like a damn furnace."

He took a step closer and turned to look south. He pictured the warm, glowing sands of Ishval and wished he could take Alison there. She was so much happier and livelier when she was warm. But he could take her there, not now, so he just hoped they made it to the village soon. And they did.

After only about ten minutes, the group reached the small village. It's occupants were cautious of the newcomers, but seeing Scar served to ease their fears, if only slightly. Marcoh was able to explain why they were there, however, and the group was allowed to enter the village.

Almost immediately, they were taken to a large, nearly empty house. An elderly man sat beside a blazing fire.

"Hello, my friends," the man said, "I am called Toni, and I welcome you to sit by this fire." Alison gladly walked briskly towards the flame, followed by the others. Smiling at the mismatched group, Toni continued, "I'll assume you are the ones Miles said were coming. Feel free to take refuge among my people for as long as you may need. Miles is a dear old friend of mine, and I owe him this favor."

"Thank you very much, Toni," Alison replied happily.

"Please don't thank me, Miss," he replied, "But may I ask to know your names?"

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," Marcoh replied. "I am Tim Marcoh, this young girl is May Chang…" he continued introducing the rest, but he stopped when he got to Scar.

"Just called me 'Scar'," he said, "Everyone else does."

Toni looked intensely at Scar for a few moments before smiling and saying, "Very well then. Welcome to my village! Talk with people, explore the town, and have a good time while you are here!"

(Author's Note: Yeah I can't think of a way to move on from here without it sounding forced, so next chapter will have plenty of fun action! We're almost to the end and there will be plenty of cute romantic fluff mixed with intense battles and heart wrenching turns coming up! YAY!)


End file.
